In a letter to the judge currently handling the case, the parties confirmed that there is zero possibility of prior settlement in the SEC’s case against Ripple.
Ripple Labs, Inc, owner of the cryptocurrency XRP and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ruled out the possibility of reaching a prior agreement right before starting the trial. The trial will take place on February 22, 2021.
Both parties’ decision appeared in a letter sent this February 15, 2021, to the United States District Judge, Analisa Torres, who is handling the case.
The preliminary trial will take place by videoconference, and Judge Torres had demanded that both parties present their arguments, which can include every possible motion and the probability of an agreement. On December 22, 2020, the SEC filed legal action against the company Ripple and its co-founders, Cristian Larsen and Bradley Garlinghouse.
They received the accusation of selling XRP to finance company activities. The SEC considers that asset to be unregistered security, while Ripple, for its part, still maintains its argument about XRP by stating that it is a “virtual currency.”
According to the complaint, Ripple’s income would be $ 1.3 billion since 2013 through the sale of XRP. Also, Ripple would have used this asset to set payments in consideration, such as labor services. Larsen and Garlinghouse also receive charges of making unrecorded personal sales of the alleged security for a total of $ 600 million.
Agreements with previous SEC administration
The authors of the letter established that the parties would let the court know about it if an agreement would happen. However, Ripple notes that “discussions of previous agreements happened under a previous administration of the SEC.”
This establishment means that the SEC’s change of authorities is what has not allowed both parties to reach an agreement.
On December 24, 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton put on the table his resignation after more than three years leading in office. The resignation came hours after signing the decision to file the lawsuit against Ripple Labs, Inc.
Clayton’s current replacement is Elad Roisman, appointed by the former Donald Trump administration as a leader of the SEC on an interim basis. In January, Gary Gensler was appointed as the new president in the framework of the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden.
The lawsuit the SEC filed against Ripple harmed XRP in its very beginning. This asset dropped from $ 0.466 to $ 0.195 in those days. However, its price is circling USD 0.541, which shows a possible increase of more than 100% since last December.
Firms against Ripple
The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple made cryptocurrency exchange platforms eToro and Binance take action against XRP. They were advising their clients that: Both platforms will stop every transaction in cryptocurrency XRP.
The exchange Binance US, which has roots and operates in the United States, stated that XRP wouldn’t appear on its list anymore. Simultaneously, the platform led by Catherine Foley informed its clients through a statement on its portal that they will not be able to deposit XRP and clarified that withdrawals in the cryptocurrency would not suffer any effect.
By: Jenson Nuñez
