The case between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs moved forward after Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the company should be fined $125M in a decision that partly honored and partly discharged the SEC’s claims.
Now, industry participants and experts are speculating on the odds of its outcome, which is likely to have a serious impact on the price of XRP.
90% Win Odds for the SEC on Appeal: Fmr. Senate Staffer
Before diving into it, it’s worth noting that the $125M fine that the court ordered represents a discount of a whopping 94% on what the SEC was initially asking for.
Therefore, many industry experts are anticipating the Commission’s appeal and challenge of the ruling.
According to Dennis Kelleher, a former Senior Senate Staffer, the SEC has a 90% chance of winning on appeal.
Chance of the US SEC winning on appeal 90%: the Ripple judge got 90 years of law upside down when he ruled sophisticated investors get the protection of the securities laws, not unsophisticated investors. That’s why all the other judges have rejected it.
Many in the comments section have outlined the discrepancies in this statement, starting with the most glaring one – Judge Analisa Torres is not a male.
What Kelleher is referring to is her decision to discharge the SEC’s claims that programmatic sales of XRP on third-party cryptocurrency exchanges constitute an offer of investment contracts. On the other hand, though, Judge Torres confirmed that the sales of XRP to accredited institutional investors did, in fact, fall within securities regulations.
It’s also worth noting that Kelleher’s comments come as a response to a statement made by Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal counselor.
Resolution Within 24 Days
Alderoty has stated that Ripple will be paying the fine if there’s a resolution and he believes that there will be one within 24 days.
As CryptoPotato reported earlier, he also said that:
“Given Judge Torres’ careful and thoughtful treatment of all of the issues in this case, we are very confident that any appeal would stand as a challenge for the SEC. If I were advising the SEC (not as Ripple’s chief legal officer but as a lawyer), I would recommend that they do not appeal.”
