Ripple v. SEC case update as of September 11, 2023

As the cryptocurrency community still waits for the conclusion of the legal standoff between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and blockchain company Ripple, the regulator continues to fight in what many in the industry now consider a pointless battle.

Indeed, the SEC has recently filed a reply memorandum in further support of its motion to certify an interlocutory appeal, according to the documents shared by a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor James K. Filan in his social media post on September 8.

As the filing reads, citing a bankruptcy case from 2006 as a reference:

“The SEC respectfully requests certification for appellate review now because the issues raised by the Court’s order on summary judgment (…) present precisely the kinds of ‘knotty legal problems’ that led Congress to provide for interlocutory review in Weber v. U.S.”

Specifically, to drive its point home, the agency argues that “at least two opinions within this District reach contradictory legal conclusions on these issues, and many other courts are considering whether similar offers and sales (…) satisfy Howey.” 

Accusing Ripple of dragging

On top of that, the SEC says it has “institutional interest in the efficient resolution of this case,” whereas the “defendants do not” as they “seek to prolong this litigation (…), presumably so that they may continue selling XRP into public markets.”

Furthermore, the securities watchdog suggested that “a stay would preserve the resources of the Court and the parties.” According to Filan, asking Judge Analisa Torres to stay the proceedings because “the SEC is all of a sudden concerned about conserving judicial resources” was “laughable.”

On the other hand, a legal expert and popular commenter on the case, Jeremy Hogan, praised the SEC reply as doing “a pretty GOOD job,” particularly with distinguishing the “Youngers” case from the “Younger” case “and actually made a lot of sense doing it,” adding that “an appellate ruling here is like taking off a band-aid.”

Meanwhile, the XRP token, which is at the center of this lawsuit, was at press time changing hands at the price of $0.4854, following a sharp drop that has seen it lose 2.96% on the day, adding up to the decline of 3.98% in the last seven days, and as much as 22.96% across the month, according to the information on September 11.

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