- A man who was earlier sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency request as he claims to have “decisive evidence” in favour of Ripple.
- Prior to this, a renowned legal expert hinted that the case was not technically over but could be concluded in 60 days.
As we discussed earlier, the multi-year legal battle between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs recently ended in a settlement. The blockchain company was asked to pay just $50 million for the alleged sales of unregistered securities. Fascinatingly, this was a significant reduction from the $125 million fine earlier imposed by the court. However, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty highlighted that the settlement requires approval by the judge and the SEC.
While this seemed to be the conclusion of the five-year-long litigation, an unexpected filing from a man called Justin W. Keener has been spotted online. Reviewing the document, CNF discovered that this is an emergency request that “presents decisive evidence in favour of the defendants and in favour of liberty for the American people.”
Meanwhile, the filing does not clearly state what the “so-called” decisive evidence is or how this could significantly impact the case to the benefit of Ripple. In the report first shared by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the evidence likely has to do with a “physical investment contract” that he has been collecting for some time.
Details About Keener and Expert Opinion on the Ripple Vs SEC Case
Researching Keener, CNF found that he is not a new face in the crypto industry. In fact, he was earlier sued by the SEC for operating what was referred to as an unregistered penny stock dealer. Later, the court ruled that he should pay more than $10 million in damages.
Prior to this development, legal expert Fred Rispoli had clarified that the SEC vs Ripple case is not technically over. In a technical sense, the case is “pending further procedures for potential resolution.”
Commenting on a recent statement by Alderoty, Rispoli hinted that the SEC could have drawn up the required paperwork for settlement while awaiting the Commission’s vote in the next 30 days.
The next process would be a filing by the SEC to lift the injunction. Judge Analisa Torres would sign within 30 days of the motion filing, according to reports. Per his assertion, the technical aspect of the case would officially be concluded in 60 days, as noted in our earlier post. Meanwhile, it is unclear if Ripple will be able to resume sales to institutional investors.
Commenting on this, Rispoli highlighted that the company could continue its institutional sales if the injunction is lifted.
So to clarify, as I understand it, there will be no more restrictions on Ripple’s institutional XRP sales. They still must conform to securities law but can now sell to say, hedge funds or private equity firms directly instead of to OTC desks first.
According to our recent analysis, XRP could respond to the official conclusion with a move to around $8 to $10. At press time, the asset was trading at $2.07 after surging by 1.5% in the last 24 hours.
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