The ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hasn’t offered much action lately and seems to be waiting for the resolution next year. Still, there are a few developments that are worth observing.
For one, America’s securities regulator convened a confidential meeting at the end of November where it touched upon specific topics, including Institution and settlement of injunctive actions, Institution and settlement of administrative proceedings, Resolution of litigation claims, and others.
This gave conspiracy theory fans the opportunity to speculate that some kind of resolution between the SEC and Ripple might be announced earlier than expected. However, this wasn’t the case, and the lawsuit remains to be resolved in the spring of 2024.
A Brief Recap of the Ripple/SEC Clash
The whole drama between the two entities started in December 2020 when the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, accusing it of selling XRP (the native token of the blockchain enterprise) in an unregistered security offering.
The battle has gone through numerous stages, with both organizations firing shots at each other. A pivotal moment occurred in mid-July this year when a US Federal Judge that Ripple’s XRP sales from years ago did not constitute an offer of investment contracts. This boosted the price of the asset and gave the crypto firm a temporary upper hand in the clash.
Moreover, Ripple secured two additional partial victories in the following months. The American magistrates dismissed the SEC’s attempt to appeal the initial decision, whereas CEO – Brad Garlinghouse – and Executive Chairman – Chris Larsen – were cleared of all charges brought by the watchdog.
A grand trial scheduled for April next year is supposed to reveal the outcome of the lengthy saga. A possible decisive win for Ripple could trigger further enthusiasm in the entire cryptocurrency sector, while an SEC victory could have the opposite effect.
