Recent events related to Ripple and the U.S. SEC such as Uniswap lawsuit and Ripple’s stablecoin plans led to numerous theories on settlement in the SEC v. Ripple Labs lawsuit, especially after a March 29 court filing that showed a settlement conference happened between the parties.
Ripple CTO Stuart Alderoty took to X and cleared the air on the pre-trial settlement stating that “there is no final pretrial conference because the SEC dismissed the charges.”
Before the settlement conference, the SEC asked the court for a final judgment against Ripple and nearly $2 billion in penalties for violating Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 and conducting unregistered offerings of XRP in institutional sales. Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Stuart Alderoty condemned the SEC and claimed to expose the regulator in its filing by April 22.
Ripple Vs SEC Pre-Trial Conference
Fresh debates on settlement in Ripple vs SEC started as the SDNY Court’s proceeding calendar for the week of April 15 displays a “Final Pretrial Conference” between the U.S. SEC and Ripple Labs on April 16. However, the courtroom details remained unspecified. In fact, the matters for pre-trial were dismissed when the SEC dropped charges against CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen.
Nevertheless, some XRP army members still believe a settlement is in play after the SEC’s recent closed-door meeting on April 11, Ripple’s delayed XRP unlocks from escrow, and reasons provided by expert Ashley Prosper why Ripple vs SEC case is probably over.
However, it’s an important week as Ripple’s defense team prepares to file an opposition brief by April 22 and a redacted version by April 24. Further, the SEC is scheduled to file its reply brief by May 6. The parties and third-parties will then confer on other possible issues, with filings expected until May 20.
Impact of Coinbase Interlocutory Appeal
Coinbase and Ripple gained clarity from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that secondary market transactions of cryptocurrency are not securities. Moreover, Coinbase has filed for interlocutory appeal in the SEC case in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals seeking clarity on whether an “investment contract” requires something contractual.
Pro-XRP lawyer Bill Morgan said Coinbase’s potential loss in the SEC appeal could open doors for the SEC to appeal against programmatic sales of XRP. As the appeal centers on a crucial question regarding the definition of an “investment contract”, a loss in appeal have significant implications for the lawsuits and the crypto market.
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XRP Price Gains for Claiming Key Support
XRP price currently trading below the psychological level at $0.50 and the earlier key support level at $0.52. The price is up 2% in the past 24 hours, with a 24-hour high of $0.501. The price needs to regain the levels to start rising again.
The community expressed concerns over the lack of upside momentum in XRP, with some pointing to Ripple’s release of XRP from escrow and uncertainty in the case as the reasons behind it. However, active XRPL liquidity pools are increasing, giving some respite for the army despite a slow growth rate.
Derivatives traders are buying XRP with more than 2% increase in XRP futures open interest in the last 24 hours, as per data by CoinGlass. In the last few hours, total XRP futures OI has remained positive despite low trading volumes. The buying is witnessed across all major exchanges.
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