XRP News: Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty on “Settlement Conference” With SEC

A settlement conference happened between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss issues and narrow down the disputes, as per a court filing dated March 29. Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty later took to X and posted about the U.S. SEC’s lack of clarity despite claims that the DAO hack report provided much clarity to crypto.

Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty on the SEC’s Broken Claims

Stuart Alderoty, CLO of Ripple, lambasted the U.S. SEC for failing to provide clarity to the crypto industry even after 7 years of the DAO report. The SEC claimed the DAO report provided much clarity to the crypto community in regulatory and operational aspects.

However, he pointed out that “Something’s broken” as the SEC is still litigating 8 major crypto cases in federal courts. With no resolution of disputes in sight, the court cases continue to get more complicated.

The post came after a settlement conference between Ripple Labs and the U.S. SEC on March 29, as per a court filing. Some claims Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CLO Stuart Alderoty were even spotted in Manhattan, New York City.

This is today? Can anyone in NY confirm? https://t.co/s2BHR0E5PZ

— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) March 29, 2024

Settlement Talks in Ripple Vs SEC

Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett said the settlement conference could probably be the meeting scheduled to take place ahead of pre-trial in April. The settlement conference is a meeting between two opposing parties of a lawsuit to discuss issues and mutual resolution of disputes or narrow down ongoing disputes before a trial.

Judge Analisa Torres asked counsel for both parties, along with Ripple and SEC heads, to discuss settlement ahead of the final pretrial conference on April 16.

Meanwhile, the SEC seeks a final judgment against Ripple. This includes permanent injunctions, disgorgement and prejudgment interest, and civil penalties of nearly $2 billion. In response, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CLO Stuart Alderoty lashed out at the SEC and said to expose the regulator in Ripple’s filing on April 22.

Also Read: Whales Move 244 Mln XRP As Price Regains Momentum, What’s Next?

Questions on Secondary Sales of XRP

Judge Failla’s decision on secondary market sales as investment contracts in Coinbase vs US SEC lawsuit sparked a buzz in the community and among lawyers.

Former SEC official John Reed Stark said the major blow to Coinbase and Ripple was Judge Failla completely rejected Judge Torres’ reason in the Ripple decision that secondary sales can’t be investment contracts because the purchaser doesn’t know who they are buying from.

Pro-XRP attorney Bill Morgan tries to address XRP community concerns regarding secondary sales and said “Judge Torres stated the issue of secondary sales was not properly before the court.” The court didn’t address secondary sales of XRP and specifically focused on programmatic sales because that was 1 of 3 categories argued by the SEC.

But it's a distinction without a difference. Following Torres' reasoning, it's hard to imagine how any sale of tokens through an exchange would satisfy her Howey standard. Footnote notwithstanding, her logic essentially eviscerates Sec 5 liability for exchange trades.

— Marc Fagel (@Marc_Fagel) March 29, 2024

XRP Trading Activity Declines

Meanwhile, XRP price jumped 1% in the last 24 hours, with the price currently trading at $0.62. The 24-hour low and high are $0.625 and $0.632.  Furthermore, trading volume has decreased slightly in the last 24 hours.

Moreover, total XRP futures open interest is down over 1% in the past 24 hours, as per CoinGlass data. Also, there is no significant trading activity in the last few hours.

Also Read: Ethereum ETF – Consensys Urges SEC For ETH ETF Approval