The long-running legal tussle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dragging into overtime. The case is reportedly getting into a last-minute fight as both parties should be deciding over the terms.
Reports revealed that two well-placed sources expect that final negotiations might be underway. However, crypto lawyer Jeremy Hogan suggests that the only way it could be resolved soon is through a private settlement agreement.
Hogan hints at a private deal to skip court date
Jeremy Hogan in an X post mentioned that the SEC and Ripple could privately agree on settlement terms. This move will involve dismissing the appeal so that neither of the parties will take the settlement back to court for ratification.
It would be possible only after assuming that the SEC will agree not to enforce the court’s injunction. It looks very hard that the commission will pursue this option, but it could give a nod over something more oblique such as providing Ripple a path to register sales of XRP to institutional investors. This will allow Ripple to move ahead without admitting wrongdoing.
Hogan mentioned that this is the only way he can see the case being resolved anytime in the next couple of days or weeks. He linked these assumptions with the revelations made by Eleanor Terrett, a former Fox journalist. However, she highlighted that there is no real playbook that could explain why this case is taking more time to resolve than others.
The crypto lawyer stated that the parties could not move toward the appellate court to approve the judgment. This is simply because the appellate courts lack jurisdiction to impose or enforce judgments.
XRP outshines Bitcoin and Ethereum
The SEC initially accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through unregistered XRP sales. As of now, Ripple is challenging parts of Judge Analisa Torres’s 2023 ruling, including the $125 million penalty over institutional XRP sales.
However, Gary Gensler’s departure from the SEC delivered fresh hopes to Ripple and the XRP army as price exploded after Donald Trump’s presidential election win.
XRP price surged by around 230% in one year. This spike marked the comeback of Ripple’s native crypto in the tally of the top 5 cryptos. Despite facing the recent crash, XRP remains up by 9% on a year-to-date basis. On the other hand, the biggest digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum are down by 11% and 43% over the same period.
