Lawyer Reveals New Reason That Could Extend Ripple VS. SEC Case

Legal expert Attorney Bill Morgan has identified a new factor that could make the settlement of the case between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) difficult.

Bill's viewpoint adds to those of several other legal experts who made predictions of different ways by which the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit could be resolved.

While some speculated that a court ruling might bring an end to the legal battle soon, others believed that the involved parties could settle after years of the lawsuit.

The Possibility of SEC VS. Ripple Lawsuit Extension

Attorney Bill Morgan shared his view on the ongoing case based on recent developments in the SEC v. Kraken case. He suggested that these developments could alter the possibility of a quick settlement in the Ripple lawsuit.

He referred to how Kraken brought attention to Judge Analisa Torres' decision on Ripple's programmatic sales of XRP as a way to defend the SEC charges.Further, Morgan mentioned how the exchange argued that the SEC didn't relate the tokens they identified as securities to Ripple's customers.

He also drew attention to how Kraken extended the Ripple case to more crypto assets like ADA, MATIC, and ALGO, which the SEC also considered to be securities. The argument now centers on the judge's conclusion that the blind bid/ask trading on Kraken is a non-investment contract.

In the case of Ripple, Judge Analisa Torres summed up that there is no relationship between traders and issuers of XRP. According to Morgan, one of the factors supporting Judge Torres' decision is that retail traders of XRP do not anticipate profiting from Ripple's efforts.

He believes that Kraken's use of Judge Torres' decision as a way to dismiss its case could motivate the SEC to appeal the Ripple verdict.This is because if the SEC were to agree to a settlement with Ripple without appealing, it could lead other crypto businesses to invoke Judge Torres's decision.They could leverage it as a legal precedent to strengthen their defenses against the regulator.

SEC's Attempt to Challenge Ripple's Decision

On July 13, 2023, last year, Judge Analisa Torres made a crucial ruling, declaring that XRP programmatic sales did not constitute an unregistered security.This decision prompted the SEC to seek certification for an interlocutory appeal, specifically focusing on two key points.

The first one revolved around whether the programmatic sales of XRP could reasonably lead investors to anticipate profits from the efforts of others.The second point centered on whether the other distributions of XRP by Ripple constituted an investment of money."

In the latest ruling, Judge Torres determined that these issues weren't straightforward questions of law. As such, resolving them without checking the extensive factual record is impossible. She highlighted that the SEC failed to demonstrate substantial ground for a difference of opinion or conflicting authority on these matters.

Consequently, she rejected the SEC's motion to file the interlocutory appeal. This decision took the case to a trial scheduled for April 23, 2024.

The post Lawyer Reveals New Reason That Could Extend Ripple VS. SEC Case appeared first on The Tech Report.