Ripple lost the SEC lawsuit, or is the case still ongoing? 

Have you ever wondered if Ripple lost the sec lawsuit or if this intriguing case is still ongoing in court? What is the ongoing war between Ripple and the SEC, and why has it attracted so much attention from the general public? If this case continues, what are the experts’ predictions? And what is SEC, after all? 

All crypto enthusiasts interested in news from the world of the crypto industry and wondering if Ripple has lost the lawsuit should know that this case is still ongoing. Numerous legal experts worldwide predict that Ripple, a US-based blockchain company, will probably lose the long war with the SEC, the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Some legal observers say the SEC agency has failed to prove its case. The main reason for its unsuccess could be explained by the fact that thousands of retail XRP holders involved in this case were allowed to file amicus briefs so that the public could hear their story.

But how did this clash start, and why? Why do some still think Ripple lost the SEC lawsuit when the case is still running? Let’s get more crucial information about it! 

Why did the SEC file a lawsuit against Ripple in the first place?

The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that Ripple (XRP) represented unregistered security. They suggested that Ripple has been a security since 2013 and that billions of its sales from then on were securities as well. That all led to a lawsuit by the SEC.  

The case, which lasts for nearly two years, will definitely set a precedent for the crypto industry. Both SEC and Ripple Labs, which is the company behind XRP, have filed summary judgment motions. 

After filling the summary judgments, XRP railed. It was the reaction to the first glimpse of the possible end of the court case. In addition to that, after the Hinam ruling, it surged. However, it’s obvious that Ripple is beginning its settlement. As a result, as of 31 October 2022, the XRP had been trading sideways for the previous month, down 2%. 

How is the SEC behaving? 

According to XRP’r general counsel, Stu Alderoty, the SEC agency is behaving outside the legal limits. In his opinion, the SEC doesn’t aim to apply the law. Instead of that, they would likely try to remake the law, hoping to expand their jurisdiction, which is unallowable. 

After the order of the judge for SEC to give the “Hinman documents” that were exchanged back on 20 October, Ripple company acquired a small win. All that was influenced by the speech of the previous SEC director, where he pointed out that ETH (Ether) wasn’t a security. 

John Deaton led more than 75,000 XRP holders.

While SEC has had no allies, according to Forbes, more than 75,000 XRP holders were led by John Deaton, the attorney, while more than 3,000 of them stated that they’d never heard of the company they were reportedly investing in before the lawsuit of the SEC.

In addition, the report included information about the other XRP users that had no connection to Ripple and have filed amicus briefs, along with the Blockchain Association and the Digital Chamber of Commerce. 

What did Ripple’s CEO say about the case?

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, recently stated that the case, in which everyone was wondering whether Ripple lost the SEC lawsuit, could last for the following three or four months and would probably be over in the first half of 2023.

Besides that, he’d likely consider a settlement if the SEC agrees with them that XRP is not considered a security. After that statement, numerous organizations have stood in support of Ripple. They’ve also submitted the so-called “amicus curiae” briefs to the court. 

Ripple finally got the Hinman documents.

Just recently, Ripple finally received the Hinman Documents, which it fought hard to get. When William Hinman, the former Director of Corporation Finance, famously claimed that ETH is not a security, the Hinman documents are as relevant as that. 

For that reason, the official emails and drafts of the SEC agency behind that speech became exclusively relevant for the whole Ripple case. According to John Deaton’s attorney, Gensler can’t win the case. 

He recently said politicians could only take the guaranteed political win, alluding to Gensler, who would need a victory over such a huge company in the industry that would prove he was right.  

The whole Ripple XRP lawsuit inspired Stuart Aldeorty, Ripple’s general counsel, to say that the case would quickly be solved if the SEC stated that XRP is not a security, as mentioned above.

Is XRP a security or not?

The main question regarding this case, “Did Ripple lose the SEC lawsuit or not” is whether XRP is a security. It’s crucial to remember that Ripple represents a network with the main goal of providing low-cost and fast payments to financial institutions. It is powered by the famous, native XRP cryptocurrency of Ripple.

The native cryptocurrency was launched in 2013 to raise funds for the Ripple company. Nonetheless, the SEC sued Ripple labs in December 2020. As mentioned above, the main reason for that lawsuit was that Ripple had raised $1.3 billion by selling XRP via unregistered security transactions. 

But, according to the Ripple Lab’s chair Larsen and Garlinghouse, the sales were 100% legal. The disputed argument was based on Howey Test from the U.S. court case responsible for determining whether the asset is a security.

What did Ripple argue about?

Even though Ripple doesn’t deny the sale of its XRP tokens, it argues that it doesn’t meet any criteria of the famous Howey Test. As Ripple argued, it doesn’t specifically meet the first rule, which implies that the investment contract is necessary. 

According to Garlinghouse, their main point is that Ripple does not possess a contract. Nonetheless, the SEC agency argued that XRP met the “investment of money” criteria on the Howey Test in the summary of judgment filing. 

XRP price analysis and other statistics

At the time of writing, the XRP ended the day at the $0.45503 level. It fell short of $0.46 for the first time in the last 1,5 months. The XRP fell to an early low at the $0.44790 level, which was a mixed start to the day. 

The late morning high of $04.6642 resulted from the rise of XRP’s First Major Support Level. Through the First Major Resistance Level, XRP broke through at $0.4623 before returning to sub-$0.4520. Nonetheless, with support from the U.S. economic calendar, at the end of the day, XRP bounced back to $0.45503.

According to the SEC vs. Ripple case, where everyone wondered whether Ripple lost the SEC lawsuit or the case is still ongoing, the case had a muted impact. It left investors to respond to all the economic indicators in the United States. 

Statistics were crypto-positive

Along with investors racing to not much strong sector PMI numbers, all the statistics were positive for crypto. Regarding ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI, it fell from 56.7 to 54.4 in October, where the economists forecast a decline up to 55.5. What was mixed were the Index’ sub-components when the ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment Index fell to 49.1 from 53.0. 

Nonetheless, it’s crucial to note that the Prices Index climbed from 68.7. to 70.7. Some other statistics included unit labor cost numbers and jobless claims that turned out to be positive for crypto. In Q3, unit labor costs rose by an incredible 3.5%, down from 8.9% in Q2, while there was a slim from 218k to 217k for Initial Jobless Claims.

XRP price prediction

When it comes to the XRP price prediction in the future, experts estimate that the price of Ripple (XRP) will probably go up from $50 to $75 by the year 2030. As one of the most notable cryptocurrencies, experts also think this token’s value will skyrocket between 2023 and 2030. 

However, investors and analysts are convinced that XRP could reach $1 next year, while their predictions are $10 in 2030. Remember that XRP is the actual digital commodity of Ripple, the real token called “Ripple Coin” or just Ripple. Since it’s facing the SEC allegations in court at the moment, the forecasts are multiple. 

Whether XRP will be able to reach new heights in the years to come or not is yet to be seen and influenced by the outcome of the Ripple vs. SEC case. 

Bottom Line

Even though some individuals hoped to see the headline “Ripple lost the SEC lawsuit” across different media channels, it’s unlikely that it will happen. According to some legal experts, SEC is expected to face, what some media wrote, a “bruising defeat .”The ongoing legal battle between the famous SEC, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Ripple Labs company behind XRP is nearing its end. 

After the end of the discovery phase, both parties filed their motions for summary judgments quite recently. SEC’s chances of winning the case have continued to shrink. 

We have witnessed clear signs of “bruising defeat” for the SEC. However, the case is still ongoing, so it’s still early to predict the exact outcome. We’ll have to wait for the following year to see whether the experts’ predictions will be fulfilled, or we could, miraculously, see the headline “Ripple lost the SEC lawsuit” sometime in the future.