The crypto world continues to closely monitor the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fate of Ripple and its XRP token remains unclear after both parties have submitted their respective briefings.
Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit update as of January 30, 2023
While the jurisdiction is not yet known, legal experts are still speculating about the potential outcome and its impact on the cryptocurrency industry.
A legal expert, Crypto Law founder John Deaton, recently commented on the case highlighting the SEC’s ‘schizophrenic argument’ over what constitutes the joint venture in the Ripple case, and believes the presiding judge is likely to reject the summary judgment.
“Based on the SEC’s schizophrenic argument as to what constitutes the joint venture in the Ripple case, there is a possibility that Judge Torres may reject the summary judgment and rule that there is a real question of material facts regarding the existence of a joint venture,” Deaton said.
Based on the SEC’s schizophrenic argument regarding what constitutes the common enterprise in the @Ripple case, there’s a possibility Judge Torres could deny summary judgment and rule that there is a genuine issue of material facts as to the existence of a common enterprise. https://t.co/3Vo9wGFRed
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) January 30, 2023
In particular, the joint venture is a key factor in determining whether a financial instrument is a security. Interestingly, Deaton had predicted that the case could result in a settlement. According to the lawyer, even after the summary verdict, Ripple and the SEC will likely agree to avoid further appeals.
Ripple claims that the SEC is seeking a ruling that XRP is an investment contract but has no contract, investor rights and issuer obligations. The SEC accused Ripple of using ‘invented’ benchmarks that disregard US-based securities law.
Ripple – investment banker statement
As the case awaits a decision date, the interest of interested parties who want to influence the final decision remains. Ripple, for example, filed a petition challenging an investment banker’s request to keep certain information confidential, including the declarant’s name, position, and employer.
However, as reported by Finbold, the party responded to Ripple’s objections by stating that disclosure of their identities could adversely affect future investigations by discouraging witnesses from cooperating due to lack of confidentiality assurance.
Meanwhile, both Ripple and the SEC are confident that they will prevail in this matter amongst high-profile points of contention. At this time, the crypto community will be looking at court decisions to withhold certain documents from the public.
It is worth noting that the outcome of this case will not only affect Ripple and XRP, but will also set a precedent for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. Related to the issue, the SEC is suing Ripple for selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP tokens.
XRP price analysis
At the same time, the value of XRP during the hearings denoted stability with the overall market. At press time, XRP was trading at $0.41, down about 5% weekly.
XRP seven-day price chart. Source: Finbold
The token controls a market capitalization of approximately $20.86 billion.
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