Top Lawyer Says SEC Appeal Becomes Difficult With XRP at $3

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On January 15th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted their initial arguments in their appeal for the Ripple lawsuit concerning the status of XRP as a security. Despite facing significant backlash from industry experts, legal advisor Jeremy Hogan has opted to analyze the court filing, primarily pointing out its weaknesses.

Issue with SEC’s appeal

As per Hogan’s statement, the U.S. SEC brief was difficult to navigate, suggesting a careless assembly. Hogan implied that the author of the brief seemed to be aware they were expending effort without much impact. He specifically noted that the SEC is challenging only the part in which the court determined that the sales of XRP to investors on exchanges were not considered as security sales.

Hogan stated that the market regulator isn’t focusing on the fact that no investors were hurt. In his view, emphasizing this aspect might be challenging, given the present market conditions. At the moment of writing, the value of XRP increased by 8.02%, reaching $3.11 over the past 24 hours. Notably, XRP has been the primary beneficiary, aside from Bitcoin (BTC), during this ongoing bullish trend.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is merely contesting the decision that the transactions of XRP sold to retail buyers on exchanges did NOT qualify as sales of securities. This is the extent of their appeal, nothing else. It has no bearing on whether or not any investors were harmed, a point which has become increasingly challenging given the current price of XRP at $3.

— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) January 16, 2025

According to Jeremy Hogan, attorney for the case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) aims to convince the court that it’s not necessary for them to prove XRP investors were aware of Ripple’s pledge to boost the coin’s value. The lawyer highlighted this point as a significant hurdle in dealing with the market regulator.

Dangerous precedent for SEC

In essence, Hogan implied that if the court’s decision in this case stands, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could potentially harm itself in future cases. This is due to the possibility that they may be required to obtain information about promotional statements from investors, a task that can be expensive and labor-intensive.

As Gary Gensler is set to leave his position in just four days, there’s discussion among industry experts about what might happen to the current case at hand. The possibility exists that the incoming Chairman Paul Atkins could choose to drop this case, along with other non-fraud cases that Gary Gensler has pursued during his tenure over the past few years.

The United States is undergoing a change, and there’s widespread optimism that the new administration will adopt a more lenient approach towards regulation.

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2025-01-16 17:36