SEC Wins Request to Appeal; Is This Good Or Bad For XRP?

XRP lawsuit News: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request to appeal in its continuing legal conflict with Ripple Labs is granted the go-ahead by Judge Analisa Torres. This decision, however, is not Judge Torres’s official position on the appeal but only a way for the SEC to proceed.

As I said last week, she was going to grant the SEC the right to file a formal motion for an interlocutory appeal. Now she can deny it and explain why she’s denying it along with explaining why Rakoff is completely off regarding his understanding of what she ruled. It was the SEC… https://t.co/QUmYAGWthG

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) August 17, 2023

The SEC’s decision to appeal closely follows Ripple Labs and its co-defendants Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen’s opposition to this request. Consequently, Ripple Labs has been granted until September 1st to file its counter-arguments.

Why is US SEC filing an appeal in XRP Ruling?

The core of this appeal revolves around a decision by Judge Torres regarding programmatic sales and other distributions of the XRP token. Specifically, she ruled in July that while the programmatic sales of XRP didn’t fit the Howey test criteria, the institutional sales did.

It seems as if the SEC is going to file an interlocutory appeal in the Ripple case.

Given their statements post the summary judgement, it seemed to inevitable.

Their filing will come in court next week. The fight continues!$XRP https://t.co/NKwFxgcHY4

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) August 10, 2023

Moreover, Ripple Labs accused the SEC of backtracking. They asserted the SEC couldn’t show the necessary facts supporting their claim, making applying the Howey test to XRP’s distributions challenging. They also argued that the SEC’s appeal request fails to meet the necessary standards. Hence, Ripple Labs views this move by the SEC as a strategic pivot to adjust its approach to the digital asset sector.

Conversely, the SEC has stressed that their appeal aims to sidestep prolonged litigation remedies. They cited potential ramifications of the initial Ripple Labs ruling on various ongoing cases.

Impact on XRP market position

XRP’s market dynamics have taken a hit in light of these developments. The crypto’s price plunged from a 24-hour high of $0.8468 to a worrying 30-day low of $0.5718.At press time, XRP price stands at $0.5778, experiencing a drop of 8.59% from its daily peak. 

XRP/USD 24-hour price chart (source: CoinMarketCap)

Notably, if this bearish momentum persists and breaks the $0.5718 mark, the next significant threshold would be the $0.5000 support level, historically a magnet for potential buyers. Furthermore, XRP’s market capitalization and 24-hour trading volume have decreased by 3.55% and 13.05%, at $30,533,791,670 and $1,550,078,758, respectively.

While the judge’s decision marks a pivotal moment in the SEC-Ripple Labs saga, the impact on XRP remains to be fully realized. Investors, traders, and stakeholders are keenly watching, waiting to see the ripple effects of this legal tussle on XRP’s market trajectory.