Ripple (XRP) May Have Won the Battle v. SEC, but the War is Just Starting

TL;DR

• Ripple secured another win against the SEC in court; however, the legal battle continues with a trial set for April 23, 2024. The SEC may appeal post-trial.
• Ripple vs. SEC outcome is pivotal for the crypto industry, potentially redefining regulatory guidelines on what is considered a security.
• Recent Ripple updates: The controversial Clawback feature was introduced, Ripple was recognized in the Fintech 100 list, and Chase Bank enables XRP payments via a new partnership.

The Battle is Just Getting Started

The SEC is on a losing streak in court. This week, we saw Ripple securing another win after Judge Analisa Torres denied the SEC’s motion to appeal the case as it failed to meet its respective burden of proof, highlighting its lack of evidence.

Ripple heightened its morale after the news, and XRP surged over 5% shortly after. The XRP community declared victory, which could be a tad soon, as this long-standing legal battle is far from over.

In that same court ruling, Judge Torres set the trial date for April 23, 2024. The two parties must submit all the necessary pre-trial filings and documents by December 4, 2023.

But here’s the catch: the SEC can appeal the case once the trial concludes, and the possibilities are high as the standard litigation process allows for appeals post-trial, putting the case back on track.

Elliott Z. Stein, a senior Litigation Analyst at Bloomberg, stated that the court only denied the interlocutory appeal before the final judgment in the case. This means it was only an immediate appeal before the actual trial.

Correct. This only denied the interlocutory (ie immediate) appeal before final judgment in the case. Appeals (probably by both sides) in the regular course of litigation will still come after the individuals’ trial in April and remedies are determined. pic.twitter.com/ncTdrj8Cly

— Elliott Z. Stein (@NYCStein) October 4, 2023

The Case’s Final Judge Could Have a Large Impact on Crypto

The case of Ripple against the SEC has generated a lot of controversy since it started roughly three years ago. The regulatory agency accused the company of selling unregistered securities, which sparked a heated debate regarding what constitutes security.

But things haven’t gone exactly as the SEC expected, which may explain its abrupt behavior against the cryptocurrency industry, with the agency’s Chairman Gary Gensler stating the industry is full of hucksters.

The outcome of this case could be one of the most significant catalysts for XRP and the crypto community as a whole. Whether this outcome will be positive or negative, it will determine what gives the SEC jurisdiction over what is security and redefine the regulatory landscape.

Latest Updates on Ripple and XRP

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy for Ripple, both on the legal front and for its eco.

Regarding the XRP community, there’s a new feature that is stirring controversy: the Clawback functionality:

• Clawback, an XRP Ledger Version 1.12.0 feature, enables asset issuers to reclaim tokens if they suspect the receiving part is fraudulent or has lost account access.
• It’s been controversial; the community is concerned if this will grant issuers excessive control or potential for misuse.

In other news, Ripple got listed on the Fintech 100 list for modernizing the way cross-border payments are settled.

Finally, Chase Bank, one of the largest financial institutions subsidiary of JPMorgan, recently partnered with the blockchain settlement FCF Pay to allow clients to use crypto as a means of payment, which includes Ripple’s XRP and Shiba Inu (SHIB).