Judge Torres Decision on Ripple Case Expected Soon

• The SEC and the company are sealing information regarding XRP sales and Ripple’s financial performance.
• With its vote on FIT21, the U.S. House may have an effect on the XRP case and other cryptocurrency laws.

Both sides of the ongoing XRP case between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have presented their positions and the remedies phase has begun. Conflicts have emerged regarding the sealing of some financial data from Ripple and the post-complaint XRP sales to institutional investors.

Watching the Final Decision of Judge Torres

Judge Torres’ ultimate ruling, which is expected following the motion to seal ruling, is much anticipated by the plaintiff, defendant, and interested parties. Experts think that the ruling may come considerably sooner than anticipated, maybe in Q3 of 2024.

The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) was just voted on in a momentous occasion by the U.S. House of Representatives. This law represents the first step in developing a regulatory framework for the issuance and exchange of digital assets.

In regulating the U.S. cryptocurrency sector, it seeks to specify the jurisdictions of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Affect on XRP and Other Crypto Lawsuits

Major participants like Coinbase and Binance, as well as other pending litigation, will be impacted if the cryptocurrency bill becomes law. Congressmen have specifically noted that Judge Torres’ summary ruling in July 2023 had a significant impact on the crypto bill’s architecture, which could have an impact on the XRP litigation.

Fascinatingly, a provision of the crypto bill supports Judge Torres’ conclusion that XRP is not a security. According to the bill, a digital asset transferred or sold under an investment agreement does not turn into a security just by virtue of the agreement.

Legal Opinion on Decentralization

“The legislation is not retrospective,” lawyer Bill Morgan said, addressing rumors that XRP could not be regarded as decentralized under the new rules. Since the court has already ruled that XRP is not a security, the SEC has said it will not appeal the ruling.

Ripple has moved to hide evidence from public view, and the SEC has objected, claiming that the redaction requests will hide important information. For court rulings and public understanding of penalties, this information—which includes specifics on Ripple’s assets, sales, income, expenses, and institutional investor discounts—is essential.

Varying Penalty Amounts

While Ripple claims it should only be responsible for civil penalties not to exceed $10 million, the SEC is requesting $2 billion in total charges. The final sum is probably going to be far less because courts have historically refused to accept the first sum that a side requests.

At the time of writing, XRP was valued at roughly $0.535 on CoinMarketCap, having decreased little by 0.48% over the previous day. Notwithstanding this little decline, XRP has risen by 4.03% in the last week, indicating a bullish trend. Since Coinbase relisted XRP, 20 million New Yorkers can now trade the cryptocurrency, as CNF previously reported.

According to Bill Morgan, Ripple will largely win the seal move. He did stress, though, that although the SEC is pursuing a permanent injunction to halt ODL sales, none of the reduced sales to institutions were ODL contracts.