XRP Lawsuit: Here’s Why Experts Think Ripple Could Win the Case Against SEC

The XRP lawsuit filed by SEC against Ripple is drawing a near end, and nearly after 9 months of back and forth, experts have weighed in on the possible outcome of the case. The latest development in Ripple vs SEC case saw the defendants file for another seal motion for two exhibits from the Interrogatories Dispute, that the SEC filed under seal in support of its September 8, 2021, letter.

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Ripple files Motion to Seal Exhibits regarding Motion to Compel answers to interrogatories identifying the theory of how the Howey Test applies to transactions in XRP over the last 8 years.https://t.co/J9F4DhKfGq

— James K. Filan ???????? (@FilanLaw) September 16, 2021

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On the other hand, SEC has also filed to seal 13 key documents that Ripple has demanded, claiming it to be internal documents that cannot be put in the public domain. The biggest point of conflict is with former SEC director William Hinman’s draft speech that claimed Ethereum turned into non-security over time as the network development made it more decentralized. However, SEC claims those comments were made by Hinman in a personal capacity and thus cannot be used by defendants as the ground to dismiss the case.

Legal Experts Claim Ripple Would Win the Case

The SEC’s threat to COINBASE over its unrelated lending product has unified the crypto community against the SEC and also highlighted the flaws of existing security regulations. Jhon E Deaton from CryptoLaw pointed towards the Hinman Speech regarding Ethereum could play in Ripple’s favor.

Who remembers in the Hinman deposition the question about “if you called 10 different law firms you would get 10 different answers? That goes to the external factors faced by market participants such as @Ripple.

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) September 17, 2021

Charles Gasparino from Fox Business talked to the SEC regarding the logic behind going after XRP but not Ether (ETH), to which the enforcement agency gave quite a vague response. According to Gasparino, SEC claimed Ether had a well-developed ecosystem that was decentralized enough to be deemed as non-security. While Ripple’s infrastructure is still being built, thus the token being used is considered a security.

(2/2) totally built-out and has been for years thus it's clearly a commodity. @HesterPeirce argues that all may be the case, but as @SECGov splits hairs, crypto innovation is being stifled so what's needed is a "Safe Harbor" that pulls back all this enforcement action. Developing

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) September 15, 2021

Gasparino however argued that the timing of the SEC lawsuit calls for scrutiny since the case was filed just days before former SEC chief Jay Clayton’s departure.

(2/2) is known to bow to staff concerns. Doesnt mean its a good case; in fact, protecting turf is a symptom of the haphazard way #cryptocurrencies #blockchain is being regulated & why we need consistency immediately or we will get our clocks cleaned on this technology by China

— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) September 16, 2021

XRP proponents even claimed the decision to give Ethereum a free pass from regulatory scrutiny was based on personal gains for SEC executives including Hinman and Clayton. While Ripple has claimed it won’t go for the settlement as it is confident of its chances, the outcome of the case could define the future of crypto regulations in the US.

About Author

Prashant Jha

An engineering graduate, Prashant focuses on UK and Indian markets. As a crypto-journalist, his interests lie in blockchain technology adoption across emerging economies.