Ripple SEC Case: Lawyers Clear The Air On Appeals In XRP Lawsuit

Ripple SEC Case: After Judge Torres ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in penalties in the remedies phase, debates spurred over the potential appeal by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Some reports suggest the government agency will not appeal against the ruling, but lawyers say appeals to previous decisions are more likely, including summary judgment.

Judge Torres Ends Long-Running Ripple SEC Case

The Southern District of New York Court in the final judgment held defendant Ripple Labs liable to pay $125 million instead of $2 billion aimed by the U.S. SEC. However, the regulator’s argument for injunction was granted and the federal judge permanently restrained Ripple from XRP sales to institutional investors and ODL sales without a registration statement.

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CLO Stuart Alderoty said it was a major victory for the company, the crypto industry, and the rule of law. The executives expressed satisfaction with the verdict and indicated they intend not to appeal Judge Torres’ decision.

“The SEC asked for $2B, and the Court reduced their demand by ~94% recognizing that they had overplayed their hand. We respect the Court’s decision and have clarity to continue growing our company,” said Garlinghouse.

Lawyers Say Appeals Filing By SEC and Ripple Are Coming

While some reports suggest that the Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to not appeal the remedies decision, lawyers confirmed that no such statement came from Garlinghouse or Stuart Alderoty during the recent interviews. Pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan responded, “Stuart said nothing that indicates he believes the SEC will or will not appeal.”

Former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel explained the agency has 60 days to appeal in Ripple SEC case. It can also happen after Ripple pays civil penalties to the regulator in 30 days. If the regulator files an appeal, “presumably the money will be held pending resolution of the appeal.”

Attorney Fred Rispoli mentioned that Ripple Labs will only cross-appeal if the SEC appeals first. Interestingly, the agency has also not used “appeal” language or reacted strongly against the decision. Also, the company continues to believe that its current XRP sales no longer fall into the securities category.

XRP ODL Sales To Continue Despite Injunction

Attorney Jeremy Hogan stated that XRP ODL sales will continue despite the injunction against the company. Firstly, Ripple’s majority XRP and ODL sales are outside the U.S. jurisdiction and not subject to the ruling. Secondly, XRP sales to institutions are allowed as long as it happen under one of the five exemptions to registration.

Also, the crypto company has made significant changes to how it sells XRP in order to comply with the summary judgment in Ripple SEC case. Judge Torres didn’t give the ODL language the SEC was expecting, making it present evidence of the violation. Hogan added that the company can also raise its argument that there can be no expectation of profits when the XRP is only held for a second.

XRP price jumped over 30% this week, with the price currently trading at $0.60. The 24-hour low and high are $0.57 and $0.60, respectively. Furthermore, the trading volume has decreased by 56% in the last 24 hours. XRP price dropped after whales dumped massively after buying tokens. CoinGape analysis shows weaknesses in technical chart and on-chain data.