RIPPLE VS. SEC LEGAL BATTLE SPURS SETTLEMENT SPECULATION

　　TL;DR

　　The Ripple and SEC reached a settlement on March 29, the date the court filed its order.

　　Ripple’s top brass are openly at quaits with the SEC, and they are also disclosing additional information in the filing that’s due on the 22nd of April.

　　A “Final Pretrial Conference” is scheduled for April 16 in the Southern District of New York Court, though details remain to be confirmed.

　　The Ripple Labs case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently burst into litigation over plausible crypto-related issues. Recent developments have brought people again to this topic of creating a possible settlement.

　　A crucial court filing on March 29 revealed that Ripple and the SEC had been to a meeting for settlement. However, due to this development, doubt still exists in the courtroom. Ripple’s CEOs, Brad Garlinghouse and Stuart Alderoty, have criticized the SEC. They told us about their future disclosures in a document that will be presented in their April 22, 2020 filing. As the litigation continues to develop, the secret of the Ripple community is that we hope for the best outcome.

　　The court’s calendar of the Southern District of New York Court had the “Final Pretrial Conference” as being on April 16. Nevertheless, the conference details are still marked as “TBD”. This event comes after a major move by the SEC earlier to withdraw charges against Ripple’s CEO and Executive Chairman. Ripple’s lawyers are currently drafting an opposition brief to be filed on April 22, with a series of further submissions due by May 20.

　　Ripple prepares key legal filings for May

　　Ripple’s counsel is actively working on their next legal moves. They are due to file a critical opposition brief shortly. Also, by April 24, a redacted version of this document is required. This precedes SEC’s response, which is expected on May 6. These submissions will open the door for dialogue between the parties and possibly third-party interveners.

　　Coinbase has also gained substantial clarity in the process of cryptocurrency transactions as part of parallel legal developments. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the U.S. has confirmed that secondary market transactions of cryptocurrencies are not considered to be securities.

　　Such a decision has a tremendous effect on the landscape of crypto regulations. In addition, Coinbase has attempted to obtain additional clarity with an interlocutory appeal that concentrates on the explanation of an “investment contract.”

　　Market reactions and Ripple’s strategy shifts

　　The lawsuit in progress touches not only legal but also financial matters for Ripple and the whole cryptocurrency market. Recently, Ripple decided to defer the unlocking of XRP from escrow, which has led to different interpretations among the investing community. Some analysts, such as Ashley Prosper, propose that the case may be approaching its end, which may help the market stabilize.

　　Although XRP is experiencing attention and market movement, it remains to be seen how this will affect its price, which currently shows great variations. In his statement, XRP advocate Bill Morgan raised concerns over the possibility of ensuring that the SEC will be able to change the programmatic XRP sales more radically in case there’s a negative verdict on the Coinbase court case.