Important Ripple v. SEC Lawsuit Update October 11th

TL;DR

• Judge Torres ruled XRP’s secondary sales aren’t securities, but Ripple was fined $125M. The company filed a cross-appeal after the SEC contended, adding more legal uncertainty.
• XRP saw a slight recovery to $0.54 but remains down in the past two weeks.

The Latest Update

The legal tussle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a major milestone at the beginning of August when Judge Analisa Torres determined that the sales of XRP on secondary markets to retail investors did not constitute securities transactions. On the other hand, she ordered the company to pay a $125 million fine for violating certain rules. 

The number represented just a fraction of the $2 billion the SEC initially asked for, causing many (including Ripple’s CEO) to describe the ruling as a victory. 

The regulator appealed the 2023 decision, causing a double-digit price crash for the native token and a new doze of uncertainty.

Most recently, Ripple’s CLO Stuart Alderoty said the firm filed a cross-appeal “to ensure nothing’s left on the table, including the argument that there can’t be an “investment contract” without there being essential rights and obligations found in a contract.”

He reminded that the SEC has already stated that it doesn’t contend with the magistrate’s decision that XRP itself isn’t a security. “They even apologized in another case for suggesting a token itself could be a security,” the executive added.

In conclusion, Alderoty said the company looks forward to the federal court of appeals to “finally put a stake in the heart of Gensler’s misguided attack” on the cryptocurrency industry.

XRP Price Reaction

The asset’s price headed north shortly after Alderoty’s announcement, reaching approximately $0.54. It currently trades at around $0.53 (per CoinGecko’s data), representing a mere 1.5% increase on a daily scale.

XRP Price, Source: CoinGecko

Still, XRP remains deep in the red on a two-week basis, which coincides with the broader slump of the entire crypto market during that period.

Despite the token’s shaky performance as of late, multiple analysts remain optimistic that a solid rally might be just around the corner. The X user Dark Defender recently argued that the news surrounding the Ripple v. SEC case has “a minor impact” on XRP, whose valuation is mainly fueled by technical metrics:

“When Heikin Ashi Candles (average-price candles, currently at $0.57) are considered, the monthly average price stays above the support level, which is critical for XRP to continue the momentum. This is supported by the MACD indicator, where XRP has the green dot on the monthly time frame. I am super bullish, and I expect XRP to follow his pattern.”