Will The SEC Appeal If Ripple Wins In Court? US Lawyer J. Hogan Weighs In
The United States District Judge, Analisa Torres, has been briefed on the ongoing case between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple. With the community eagerly awaiting a ruling or a trial, cryptocurrency traders have started to place their bets on the outcome.
As a result, XRP’s price has risen by over 34% in the past month, currently trading at around $0.50 on Thursday. However, the digital asset has struggled to push beyond $0.58 due to the uncertainty surrounding the case.
The Ripple Factor
Ripple has indicated plans to appeal the case should the SEC win, potentially prolonging the lawsuit by another three years or more. Consequently, some crypto traders remain cautious about the implications of a Ripple loss against the SEC.
Insights from Prominent Lawyer Jeremy Hogan
According to United States lawyer Jeremy Hogan, the SEC is unlikely to appeal the case as they have nothing to gain from doing so. However, Hogan suggests that a settlement between Ripple and the SEC would not benefit the crypto industry at large. Additionally, 14 amicus briefs, including one from Coinbase Global, illustrate the significance of the case for the future growth prospects of the crypto industry.
Also Read: Coinbase CLO Criticises SEC’s Proposed Crypto Asset Securities Rule – Coinpedia Fintech News
Potential Outcomes
Hogan stated that if the Judge rules in Ripple’s favour, the SEC is unlikely to appeal as it would create a binding precedent if the case went to the Appellate Court. If Ripple loses, Hogan believes that the Judge could take a few months to decide the fine for selling unregistered securities. In that case, Ripple would have to register XRP sales from the escrow account with the SEC as securities, which could be problematic for the company.
As the SEC vs Ripple case continues, the crypto community is watching with bated breath to see what the future holds for Ripple and the wider crypto industry.
What do you think the outcome will be, and what impact will it have?
Grayscale Vs SEC: Grayscale’s Appeal Against SEC Ruling Takes Center Stage in US Appeals Court Today
Grayscale Investments, a digital currency asset manager, has been in a legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) for several months. The dispute centers around the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s application to launch the ETF, which would have provided institutional investors an opportunity to invest in bitcoin without directly buying the cryptocurrency. According to reports, in a matter of hours, the U.S. District Court of Appeals will begin hearing Grayscale’s arguments against the SEC’s decision to deny its application for a spot Bitcoin ETF. The highly anticipated session will be broadcasted live here.
Grayscale Vs SEC: Show Begins
In June 2022, the SEC turned down Grayscale’s application for a spot ETF, citing concerns that this type of investment vehicle poses a higher risk of fraud and fails to provide adequate safeguards for investors. The SEC also noted that Grayscale’s application lacked an effective fraud prevention and investor protection plan.
Following the SEC’s rejection, Grayscale promptly filed a lawsuit against the commission and began its legal battle, which has continued to this day.
The lawsuit arises amidst growing tension between the crypto industry and the SEC, which has intensified its efforts to regulate digital asset products, including those that provide investors with returns on specific digital tokens.
Grayscale’s appeal centers on the argument that a spot ETF is equivalent to a futures ETF, which the SEC has already approved, and therefore has no grounds to reject its application.
However, the SEC argues that the two are distinct because futures contracts are traded on public exchanges, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which is supervised by federal regulators. The SEC further notes that the CME implements robust surveillance measures to detect fraud and price manipulation.
Grayscale counters that both spot and futures ETFs rely on Bitcoin’s price and carry similar levels of risk, regardless of where they are traded.
The Outcomes Will Play A Major Role For The Crypto Market
On March 7th, federal appellate court judges will begin hearing the arguments and are anticipated to make a final decision in the upcoming months.
According to Bloomberg analysts, there is a probability of less than 50% that the judges will overturn the SEC’s decision, given the effectiveness of CME’s surveillance measures in detecting fraud and manipulation in futures-based ETFs. However, it remains uncertain whether such measures would be equally effective for spot ETFs.
The ruling of the case could either uphold the SEC’s position or establish a precedent for other companies to introduce spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) if the court rules in favor of Grayscale Investments LLC.
Grayscale’s chief legal representative, Don Verrilli, stated that the SEC’s differential treatment of similar matters serves to reinforce the company’s position. He further conveyed his confidence in the success of the appeal. He said,
“The most basic way in which an agency can act in an arbitrary and capricious manner is to take like cases, like situations, and treat them differently. And, essentially, that’s what we have here.”
Bankman-Fried’s Bail Bond Appeal: Identity Disclosure Delayed?
The global cryptocurrency community has been eagerly awaiting the public disclosure of individuals, aside from SBF’s parents, who helped secure his $250 million bail bond. However, former FTX CEO SBF has filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit against the ruling made by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.
This has caused the media industry to put pressure on the court through a lawsuit filed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and CoinDesk, arguing that the public’s interest in this matter cannot be overstated.
As a result of SBF’s appeal, the identities of the individuals involved may be delayed until the case is heard and a judgment is issued.
FTX & Alameda: Losses, Recovery Efforts, and Upcoming Hearings
The FTX and Alameda case has resulted in the loss of billions of dollars for hundreds of institutional investors, including international government agencies, and millions of individual investors. Since the initiation of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, FTX’s new CEO, John Ray III, has made it a priority to recover as many assets as possible. This includes filing a case against Voyager Digital to demand a refund of the $446 million loan paid before maturity last year.
FTX has also reportedly sent private letters to politicians seeking the return of donated funds.
As the FTX and SBF case continues to escalate, the hearing in October is expected to bring to light more details uncovered by investigators. As the company strives to repay creditors, a project known as DebtDAO has proposed a token called $FUD to compensate FTX creditors.
Ultimately, SBF and his former associates at FTX will face tough questions regarding any financial laws that were broken during their tenure.
Will The SEC Appeal A Stay On Judgement If Ripple Wins The Lawsuit?
In their ongoing case, Ripple and the SEC have jointly moved for an extension of time until January 13, 2023, in order to file the Daubert motions and related exhibits on the public docket with redactions in accordance with the court’s Dec. 19, 2022, sealing judgement.
This ruling helped Ripple secure a minor win against the SEC! In the recent ruling, the court allowed its request to redact the documents produced in connection with the Daubert motions. This strives to safeguard both the legitimate privacy concerns of third parties and the sensitive business interests of Ripple.
With each new development in the lawsuit, it appears to be nearing its resolution. However, if Ripple prevails in the legal dispute, what would actually happen? Let us explore.
What If Ripple Wins The Lawsuit?
On Wednesday, an XRP enthusiast on Twitter with the username @scaruso123 inquired as to what would happen in the interim if Ripple wins the lawsuit and the SEC appeals to the appellate court.
Following that, he asked whether Ripple had the authorization to operate in the United States until the final decision was made.
Former federal prosecutor James K. Filan responded to this query. Filan explained that the SEC will urge the court to stay the judgement of its Second Circuit appeal. This means that it will ask the court not to enforce the judgement until the appeal is resolved. Filan emphasises that it would be an epic battle between the parties, and whether the court agrees to this plea remains to be seen.
Would Judge Torres Grant SEC’s Request?
Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan, reacted to Filan’s speculation that the SEC will persuade Judge Torres not to immediately enforce the judgement.
Attorney Hogan believes Judge Torres will deny the Securities and Exchange Commission’s request for a stay of the verdict. If the Judge decides that Ripple did not violate Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, there will be no need to stay the decision.
When is a Ruling Expected?
The majority of legal experts who have shared updates on the litigation predict Judge Analisa Torres will rule on the matter on or before March 31, 2023. Even James K. Filan agrees with this statement.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told the audience at the DC Fintech Week conference that the SEC lawsuit against his company would be resolved in the first half of 2023. It is not ruled out that it could take longer, though.
Another Company Appeal To Submit Amicus Brief to Support Ripple
Ripple is gaining immense support in its ongoing Ripple vs SEC case as many individuals and organizations have come forward to file an amicus brief in support of Ripple. The recent updates claim that a blockchain company, Reaper Financial, LLC has filed an appeal at the court to give an amicus brief supporting Ripple. This blockchain company has issued its native token, RPR on XRP ledger and also it burns other company’s coins on the crypto market.
As per the document filed, Reaper Financial makes note that the firm is not directly connected with Ripple. As per the firm, it aims to buy other company’s digital coins and destroy them by transferring them to inactive wallets so that the circulating supply is reduced.