The case against Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen has been settled, according to John Deaton, the attorney representing XRP investors in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit. He said that it was over the day it was filed. Many events have unfolded in the litigation field to determine if the XRP coin is a Ripple security.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Ripple Labs and its officials with raising $1.3 billion through the sale of unregistered securities XRP tokens over a seven-year period in December 2020.
John Deaton Tweeted a Complete Timeline in a Thread
Meanwhile, John Deaton feels that the case was closed the day it was filed because the SEC has no method of pursuing it further. However, in order for the commission to win this lawsuit, they must show that Ripple officials were aware that XRP was security and proceeded irresponsibly with that knowledge.
In his address, Hinman discussed his thoughts on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Based on the current status of Ether, the Ethereum network, and its decentralized nature, he claims that Ether transactions are not securities. He also believes Bitcoin isn’t secure since network participants aren’t reliant on the efforts of a central third party. These are the main points to remember from his speech.
The SEC will have a difficult time proving that XRP is a security, considering Perkins Coie legally advised Ripple on the XRP token in 2012. How can the SEC prove that Garlinghouse and Larsen were reckless in 2013 if the SEC allowed XRP to trade in the market until late 2018 without notifying them that the token is a security?
According to John Deaton, Ripple can demonstrate the reverse by claiming that the SEC was unaware that XRP was a security.
In conclusion, based on these events and pieces of evidence, Ripple executives can easily demonstrate that they did not believe XRP was a security, and that the SEC was not convinced either.
Source: https://coinpedia.org/ripple/ripple-vs-sec-is-the-lawsuit-over/