After two years of grueling legal battle, new developments are taking place in the case of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple. Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared his thoughts on the SEC in a tweet thread. Here are the details…
New development in the Ripple case
In the most recent court filing, Ripple Labs and two top executives asked the court to issue a summary ruling in their favor, alleging that the SEC failed to prove its case against them as required by law. Such a move is thought to indicate that the case will soon be over. Defendants argue in the motion that the SEC did not provide substantial evidence to support all of the claims that “XRP is an investment contract with Ripple and therefore a security under federal securities laws.”
The defendants, SEC v. He recalled the 75-year decision in the WJ Howey case. He stated that the Supreme Court determined the meaning of the legal term “investment contract” with three basic elements. According to the defendants, the SEC failed to prove all three. The defendants also claimed that the SEC cannot legally extend its regulatory access to XRP transactions that take place on foreign cryptocurrency exchanges or outside the territorial scope of US securities laws.
They also questioned the SEC’s authority over cryptoassets. Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s General Counsel, said the following:
The point is – after two years of litigation, the SEC has not been able to identify any investment contracts (the statute requires it). It failed to meet a single end of the Supreme Court’s Howey test. Everything else is just noise. Congress has authorized only the SEC on securities. Let’s go back to what the law says.
Final stage – Garlinghouse has spoken
The lawyers said that the parties submitted their petitions regarding the process. Ripple, along with other defendants, submitted their petition for summary judgment “under seal”. There is also the possibility that the Securities and Exchange Commission may choose to settle the case. According to the court’s schedule, the SEC must file its objection against the motion by October 18.
Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized the SEC in a tweet, claiming it was “not interested in enforcing the law.” As a result, the regulator claims that the purchase of XRP is an “investment in a joint business.” However, it is thought to be unable to prove this.
On the other hand, the crypto community is confident that the court will rule in favor of Ripple. They think that this will remove the cloud of uncertainty that is suppressing the price of XRP. As of now, XRP is trading at $0.37 after gaining 19% over the past three days. As we reported on Kriptokoin.com, the cryptocurrency became one of the most appreciated among other major cryptocurrencies last week.