Speculation about a potential settlement in the XRP lawsuit between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been met with skepticism and outright dismissal by several legal authorities closely monitoring the case. This development follows a recent court ruling that ordered Ripple to provide comprehensive financial records related to institutional sales of XRP during 2022 and 2023. This decision inadvertently fueled rumors of an imminent agreement.
A recent court order issued by Judge Sarah Netburn delayed the legal process by eight days, allowing Ripple to extend it until February 20 to meet financial disclosure requirements. The extension sparked speculation among observers about a potential agreement.
But with the rebuttal deadline for the relief phase set for April 24, a definitive end to the case is still far away, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the coming months.
Why the Ripple-SEC agreement is ‘nonsense’
Legal voices within the XRP community include: expose Rumors of agreement. Veteran attorney Bill Morgan emphasized the confidential nature of settlement negotiations, saying, “People may not understand that settlement negotiations are confidential and subject to some sort of privilege.” Therefore, there is no sign of an agreement until it is suddenly reached,” he said.
Echoing Morgan’s sentiments, another legal expert, Jesse Hynes, flatly dismissed the rumors as unfounded. “All the rumors about Ripple and the SEC settlement are nonsense until there is an agreement. This is not a leak, and when consent talks are leaked, they often come across as some kind of power play move to exert influence. Don’t believe the nonsense,” Hynes said.
Marc Fagel, a retired securities lawyer, added sarcasm to the discussion, scoffing at the notion of information being leaked in such high-stakes legal matters. “Yes, during the SEC litigation, we always called random anonymous Twitter accounts before we began settlement negotiations. It just seemed like common courtesy.” Fagel said, emphasizing that there is little chance of sensitive information being leaked.
“In the 26 years I have worked as an attorney or as a mediator to negotiate settlements involving hundreds of mediations, I have never once had a party or attorney breach or violate the unbiased privilege granted in mediation or settlement negotiations,” Morgan said. “Yes,” he added. .”
Since the lawsuit began in December 2020, Ripple has been facing serious legal challenges as the SEC scrutinizes institutional sales of XRP. Despite the legal chaos and the resulting bearish impact on XRP’s market performance, Ripple has achieved notable victories in court.
This includes the court’s decision that XRP is not a security and the SEC’s dismissal of the lawsuit against Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.
XRP price awaits decision
As the case progresses to resolution and important deadlines approach, the cryptocurrency community remains anxious. The outcome of this legal battle could have far-reaching implications for Ripple, related XRP sales, and digital asset prices.
At press time, XRP was trading at $0.52097.
Featured image created with DALLE, TradingView.com chart