Ripple has scored its second big victory in a week’s time in its legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn has denied the securities regulator access to the personal financial records of Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.
The XRP price has got a major boost following the news. At press time, XRP is trading 12% up at a price of $1.13 with a market cap of $51.9 billion. With this move, XRP takes the lead over Tether’s USDT while registering a solid 76% weekly gains.
Earlier this week, Ripple registered its first victory in the case. Judge Netburn granted Ripple the permission to get access to the SEC’s documents for Bitcoin and Ethereum wherein the securities regulator had exempted the two cryptocurrencies from the ‘security’ status. In this fresh development, Judge Netbuirn explains her reasons behind this decision. She wrote:
“The SEC’s requests for the Individual Defendants’ personal financial records, apart from those records of XRP transactions that are already promised, are not relevant or proportional to the needs of the case.”
The Judge further added that the claimant seeking the disclosure holds the burden of proving it right. However, the U.S. SEC hasn’t yet provided any plausible explanation or evidence for its demand. Besides, the SEC already has access to all relevant records for the transfer and sale of XRP The Judge further wrote:
“The SEC has not presented any evidence the Individual Defendants have hidden transactions or that the documents produced support an inference of hidden transactions. […]The SEC’s belief that the Individual Defendants’ banking records might show evidence of a speculative transaction that could have occurred (and that the Individual Defendants are not providing in their XRP transaction records) is not a foundation on which to order expansive discovery into personal financial accounts”.
End the War on XRP
Popular personalities from the crypto and the legal space are coming together for their support for Ripple. In a Change.org petition, Thomas Hodge, the founder of Crypto & Policy has asked SEC chairman Gary Gensler to end “the war on XRP”. The petition notes:
“We need to develop a clear regulatory framework for everyone, together with American blockchain developers and holders of digital assets”.
In addition, attorney Jeremy Hogan has also backed the latest court decision saying it’s a “good sign” for the Ripple Executives.
I recently suggested that the Court would not grant Ripple's motion for discovery if it intended to dismiss the Fair Notice defense. Inversely, I think Brad/Chris can take this as a good sign as to their Motions to Dismiss the lawsuits against them. #Quashed (1/2) https://t.co/y6Ew6yySrg
— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy) April 9, 2021
Since the XRP bulls look pretty strong at this point, the next potential XRP price target stands at $1.35.
