The legal showdown between Ripple and the U.S. SEC is heating up, and this week could be a pivotal moment.
Ripple will win? The end is near for the SEC?
The case kicked off back in December 2020 when the SEC slapped Ripple with a lawsuit, accusing the company and its executives of illegally raking in over $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP.
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Fast forward to now, and despite various rulings over the years, the battle is still very much alive.
Just last year, Judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million fine for violating federal securities laws with its institutional sales of XRP, but she also ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales to retail clients didn’t break any rules.
Ripple was all set to pay that fine, which was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the SEC’s initial demand of $2 billion.
But just when it seemed like a resolution was in sight, the SEC pulled a fast one and filed an appeal, sending the case into another round of filings and briefings.
The deadline is here
Now, here’s where it gets interesting, as the SEC has until January 15 to file its opening brief against Ripple.
If they miss that deadline, their petition could be tossed out. Legal eagle Jeremy Hogan believes they won’t let that happen, especially since Chairman Gary Gensler is still at the helm, known for his critical stance on cryptocurrencis and his penchant for filing lawsuits against crypto companies.
“The SEC will file its brief on January 15 because it has to,” Hogan stated. But he added that just because they file doesn’t mean the new leadership won’t consider settling the case down the line.
A new SEC on the horizon?
Speaking of leadership, Gensler is set to step down on January 20 after Donald Trump hinted at firing him on day one of his new presidency.
The next SEC chief will be Paul Atkins, who has been known to support crypto initiatives, sparking some excitement among Ripple supporters.
Optimists are hoping that this change in leadership might lead to a more favorable approach toward Ripple and potentially wrap up this long-standing case sooner rather than later.
But let’s keep our expectations realistic, legal processes can be long and complex, so we don’t know when will this end.
