Highlights
XRP News: Ripple files its opposition brief against the remedies-related brief by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The response by Ripple Labs’ defense team to the SEC’s request for final judgment and $2 billion in penalties is a make-or-break moment for the lawsuit and XRP price. Meanwhile, lawyers unveiled what’s next in the long-running lawsuit including appeal, fines, and settlement possibilities.
Ripple files its opposition brief along with supporting declarations and exhibits in the Ripple Vs SEC lawsuit today, April 22. There are high stakes in the opposition brief as it will be pivotal for the potential end of the lawsuit and will guide XRP price action this year.
In response to questions on a settlement between the parties, pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan stays confident that there will be no settlement on the SEC’s terms in the lawsuit. Morgan believes there’s no sense that a company that largely successfully defended a lawsuit should cut a check for $2 billion to the SEC. On the other hand, some think a settlement could halt further legal actions.
SEC enforcement expert Marc Fagel said the $2 billion in penalties is not a settlement process. The judge needs to issue an order deciding the reasonable remedies, if any. He claims the SEC is likely to follow with an appeal the part of summary judgment it lost against Ripple.
In response, Bill Morgan said “Part of the part – on programmatic sales. It did not satisfy the burden of proof on the “other distributions” category. I don’t think that can be appealed.” However, Morgan admits Ripple will pay some fines as the court considered XRP institutional sales as unregistered securities offerings.
Marc Fagel reveals the SEC can appeal to the Court of Appeals once a final judgment by Judge Analisa Torres is entered later this year.
U.S. SEC seeks final judgment against Ripple to pay $876,308,712 in disgorgement, $198,150,940 in prejudgment interest, and $876,308,712 civil penalty. However, Ripple thinks a civil penalty of not exceeding $10 million in accurate.
Read More: Ripple Vs SEC Update — Big Stakes In Opposition Brief, XRP OI Surpasses 1 Billion
The outcome of Coinbase’s interlocutory appeal is anticipated to significantly influence the Ripple Vs SEC case and the regulatory landscape of cryptocurrencies in the United States. Moreover, Coinbase can gain further clarity on secondary market sales, but a loss will make the SEC to potentially appeal Judge Torres’ ruling on programmatic sale of XRP.
In an exclusive to CoinGape Media, Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal said:
“The SEC is asking the court to interpret ‘investment contract’ in a way that is inconsistent with every single Second Circuit and Supreme Court case on the issue. That is why, even though it’s rarely granted, we are seeking an interlocutory appeal. We can’t leave any stone unturned because we are standing up for the entire industry and the 52 million Americans that own crypto. But even if we don’t have an early appeal, we remain confident in the path forward in the district court.”
XRP price trades over $0.55, up nearly 3% in the last 24 hours and 9% in a week. The 24-hour high is $0.569, with a trading volume rising more than 46%. As CoinGape predicted, any positive developments in the lawsuit can push prices to at least over $0.55.
XRP futures OI is currently up over 2% at 1.01 billion XRP in the last 24 hours, and 0.5% in the last few hours. There’s a lot of buying and selling of XRP by derivatives trading in the past 2 days, keeping XRP futures OI in a range of 1.01 billion to 1.06 billion.
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