SEC vs. Ripple: Court Ruling Gives Ripple an Edge
XRP faces a third successive weekly loss. From Monday (April 8) to Saturday (April 13), XRP was down 8.08% to $0.5464. Significantly, XRP continued to underperform the broader crypto market, which fell by 5.61% to $2,372 billion.
The ongoing SEC v Ripple case remains an XRP headwind. Investors await a court ruling on the penalty Ripple must pay for breaching Section 5 of the 1933 Securities Act. In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled Ripple failed to register XRP as a security in sales to institutional investors.
In March, the SEC filed its remedy-related opening brief. The SEC alleged that Ripple continued to breach US securities laws after the 2020 complaint in its pursuit of a $2 billion disgorgement. However, the opening brief did not distinguish between XRP sales to US and non-US institutional investors.
Ripple must file its remedy-related opposition brief by April 22. Judge Torres could hand down a significantly less severe penalty if Ripple can demonstrate post-complaint compliance with US securities laws.
On Thursday, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty shared the news of an important ruling that could influence the Ripple case.
The US appellate courts dismissed an SEC attempt to overturn the Govil ruling. In the case SEC vs. Govil, the 2d Circuit held that the SEC may not ask for a crippling disgorgement award without proving that investors suffered actual financial harm.
Ripple could argue for a nonpunitive penalty if Ripple can demonstrate that US institutional investors did not suffer financial harm.
