The legal battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and investment firm Ripple Labs Inc, which spanned almost four years, finally got a final ruling on Wednesday. Now, the question in the minds of many is whether the SEC will appeal parts of the July 2023 ruling.
Mixed sentiment from Ripple’s CTO
David Schwartz, the chief technology officer (CTO) at Ripple, took center stage in this discussion on Wednesday. A user asked what the probability of a potential appeal is, in response, he said, “Honestly, I have no idea. I can think of good arguments for why they would and good arguments for why they wouldn’t.”
Honestly, I have no idea. I can think of good arguments for why they would and good arguments for why they wouldn’t.
— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) August 8, 2024
As a reminder, the Ripple v. SEC case involves the securities classification of XRP, the digital asset associated with Ripple. In 2020, the SEC filed a case against Ripple accusing the firm of selling XRP without registering it as a security. In July 2023, Judge Torres declared XRP traded on exchanges a non-security. This is the part the SEC might appeal, if at all.
As revealed in our earlier report, Ripple was ordered to pay civil penalties worth $125 million, a fraction of the $2 billion earlier imposed. The Judge admitted that Ripple’s recurrent violations of securities laws were serious offenses. However, the Judge said the SEC has failed to establish that Ripple caused losses for its investors.
Reacting to the judgment, many XRP community members think the possibility of the SEC filing an appeal is very low due to the evolving regulatory landscape. If their speculations hold, XRP would maintain its legal clarity and set a precedent for other cryptocurrencies.
Speaking on the conclusion of the case, Schwartz says the SEC and Ripple will make important decisions in the next 60 days.
XRP’s reaction to final judgment
XRP has reacted favorably to the final judgment. Recall that XRP rose to the $0.5 mark earlier this week, after falling below this critical support level. At press time, XRP has added more value, experiencing a 20% daily surge to $0.6171.
The trading volume increased by an outstanding 250% to $5.3 billion, indicating renewed investor interest.
