Ripple’s battle to defeat the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a case that has been dragging on since December 2020 is expected to begin in early 2023, according to an update. shared by Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s General Counsel. The case revolves around XRP, a cryptocurrency launched by Ripple Labs. On December 22, the SEC announced that it had charged Ripple Labs Inc. and two senior executives for the sale of $1.3 billion in unregistered securities. The regulator said the bond offering was “ongoing,” allegedly referring to Ripple’s XRP sales. Essentially, the SEC was saying that XRP was a security. Ripple and its top executives have maintained that the securities watchdog’s accusations are entirely false. Much more has surfaced, including comments from former SEC officials.
It’s hurting XRP holders
Saturday’s update from Alderoty and defense attorney James K. Filan means there will be a full two years of waiting for the case to be resolved. “Now it looks like a resolution is coming in 2023 – and every day that passes is hurting US citizens who have essentially been victims of a rug pulled by the SEC,” Alderoty said in a statement. topic on twitter. Filan pointed for that same probability, stating in a tweet that both the SEC and Ripple have submitted a joint scheduling letter seeking a resolution to the case. According to him, the parties proposed that the opening proceedings for summary judgment begin in August. The timeline also caters to any expert challenges, with closing summaries expected “a few days before Christmas”.
SEC delay tactics
The SEC’s apparent delay tactics throughout the case ostensibly played a role in Ripple’s decision to agree to a joint filing. It is the reason why XRP holders will have to put up with the long wait for a possible resolution. Alderoty said: “For those asking if this is a joint order – yes it is. But based on the SEC’s track record, if we didn’t agree with that, the next iteration would likely have been even longer.”
To all that have been following the case thus far – thank you. Know that Ripple is pushing hard (and the Court is working hard) to resolve the case as soon as possible, despite the SEC time and again doing everything they can to delay. https://t.co/bP0shaNBOa — Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) April 22, 2022
So, the XRP community keeps waiting. As noted earlier, it is the investors who are “harming”.
XRP price today
XRP was trading around $0.71, nearly 2% down over the last 24 hours and close to 40% of the highs it reached in April 2021. That rally to nearly $2.00 on April 14 was the altcoin’s best since rising to an all-time high of $3.40 in January 2018. The cryptocurrency market cap has also shrunk, pushing XRP from third place behind Bitcoin and Ethereum to sixth at press time. as of the writing of this article, with US$ 34.3 billion.