Breaking: US SEC Files Notice of Appeal In Ripple Lawsuit

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a Notice of Appeal to challenge some aspects of Judge Analisa Torres’ July 13, 2023 ruling in the long-drawn Ripple lawsuit. This move ends the crypto industry’s speculation regarding the next course of action for the market regulator.

US SEC Appeals, What Next For Ripple Labs

The US SEC filed this Notice of Appeal of Judge Torres’ ruling five days before the October 7 deadline. After Judge Torres fined Ripple $125 million for selling XRP to institutional investors in August, many thought that would conclude the case. In the same vein, others suspected that the regulator would still pursue an appeal against the judge’s verdict.

Fox Business Journalist Eleanor Eleanor pointed out a former lawyer from the commission who believed the SEC will “probably” appeal Judge Analisa Torres’s ruling from July 2023 in the Ripple lawsuit. In the lawyer’s opinion, the SEC is keen on proving that the outcome of Ripple’s programmatic XRP sales is incorrect and therefore, would appeal the verdict that exonerates the blockchain payments firm.

Noteworthy, the window for an appeal was October 7. Just five days before this deadline, the SEC finally filed the appeal. This move will further elongate the case as the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will now analyze the merits of the previous ruling.

Lawyers Discuss Potential For Success Post-Appeal

The crypto community has waited for the Commission to take the next move; whether appeal or not.

Prior to this latest update, quite a number of people shared their opinion on what a potential appeal would mean. Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton noted that he believed that the SEC under Gary Gensler’s leadership may appeal the suit

However, he described the plan as a total waste of taxpayer money. He further stated that the SEC will lose if it appealed the Ripple lawsuit. He noted that the Second Circuit court will rule that the SEC did not establish a “common enterprise” one of the key prongs of the Howey Test from the start.

If this prediction go as planned, the case is definitely going back to Judge Torres. Also, eEx-SEC lawyer Marc Fagel noted that the SEC does not have enough evidence to prove that Ripple’s promotional materials were presented to buyers.

On the other hand, James Farrell, another ex-SEC lawyer, thinks the “de nove” review standard of the appeallate court may lead to a reevaluation of the evidence without considering Judge Torres’s findings.