Ripple v. SEC case update as of June 26, 2023

As the cryptocurrency community awaits the conclusion of the legal standoff between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple, rumors and pessimistic outcome expectations have started to spread, but so has the confusion around the conflicting statements and actions of the SEC’s leadership.

And while the community around the blockchain company, including the pro-XRP legal expert John E. Deaton, has rebuffed the rumors, well-known Bitcoin (BTC) supporter Max Keiser believes that the blockchain firm will not triumph over the regulator, as well that the SEC would succeed in bringing down its “Ponzi scheme”, as Finbold reported earlier.

Calling out SEC

Meanwhile, Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty has called out the agency for its actions, having referred to a part of the US Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) that pertains to ethical standards for administrative personnel in the executive branches of the government, saying that:

“The law requires SEC employees, like all federal employees, to act (and appear to act) impartially. The law asks: Would a reasonable person, knowing the facts, question the employee’s impartiality. You now know the facts. 5 CFR 2635.101(b)(14)”

Indeed, the quote seems to address former SEC division director Bill Hinman, whom the Ripple crypto community, with lawyer Jeremy Hogan at the forefront, has accused of benefitting from his controversial 2018 speech in which he said that Ethereum (ETH) was not a security, and alleging someone paid him to attack XRP.

As Hogan stated:

“My speculation is that Ripple [is saying] Bill Hinman was somehow paid, and he was paid by the Ethereum Foundation or someone related to Ethereum to give the speech, give Ethereum a free pass.”

Furthermore, Alderoty could also have referred to the current SEC chief Gary Gensler who, according to Deaton’s tweet on June 25, “has effectively refused to provide written documents, emails, and correspondence between SBFraud/FTX and the SEC,” while at the same time attacking Ripple and XRP, asking why the Congress hasn’t issued subpoenas, which is well in its power.

Ripple’s expansion

Regardless of the case, Ripple has continued its expansion around the world, having secured an In-Principle Approval of a Major Payments Institution License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – the country’s central bank, allowing it to offer regulated cryptocurrency products and services.

In the meantime, the XRP token, which is at the center of the widely publicized lawsuit, is currently changing hands at the price of $0.48, recording a 1.97% decline on the day and 1.95% across the week but still holding on to the modest gains of 1.66% on its monthly chart, as per the latest data on June 26.