Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House Director of Communications, suggests that the SEC has dropped its case against Ripple.
Scaramucci made this bold assertion during a recent Wolf of All Streets podcast interview. During the interview, Scaramucci and the podcast host, Scott Melker, talked about Donald Trump’s pro-crypto plans as well as the regulatory framework of the industry.
SEC Drops Ripple Lawsuit?
They also discussed other events, particularly the SEC’s decision to drop its case against crypto-related businesses. Notably, Melker highlighted some of the legal actions the SEC has dropped, which include ConsenSys, Gemini, Uniswap, Coinbase, and Robinhood.
However, Scaramuci interjected, suggesting he should add Ripple to the list. In response, Melker echoed, “Yeah, that’s right,” implying that the SEC may have dropped the Ripple lawsuit.
Despite this claim, the SEC has yet to officially announce its decision on the Ripple lawsuit, as the case continues to linger in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
This comes as the SEC pauses and dismisses cases against top crypto businesses, including Binance and Kraken. Even though the SEC charged Ripple as early as December 2020, the case is still ongoing.
Only Factor Delaying Ripple Case
Legal experts suggest that the July 2023 ruling complicates the SEC’s ability to dismiss the Ripple lawsuit. It should be recalled that the Judge ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales and other distributions of XRP were not securities. However, she found that Ripple violated the law through its initial sales to institutional investors.
The following year, the Judge slammed a $125 million fine against Ripple for this violation and subsequently imposed an injunction that prevented the company from selling to institutional investors without the SEC’s consent.
In a recent X thread, Attorney Jeremy Hogan, a Partner at Hogan & Hogan law firm, identified the injunction as the major reason why the SEC has yet to drop the appeal. He emphasized the difficulty in overturning the appeal, noting that such an action could extend the case to April or May 2025.
He dismissed the possibility of Ripple overturning the appeal through Rule 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. According to him, the only way Ripple can overturn this judgment is to collaborate with the SEC to submit a “carefully worded motion.”