3 Reasons Why Judge Torres Will Address XRP Secondary Market Trading

Attorney Deaton strongly believes Judge Torres will address XRP secondary market trading in her upcoming summary judgment decision.

As the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit nears its end, legal experts focused on crypto have continued to provide analysis on the possible outcome of the case.

CryptoLaw founder attorney John Deaton took to Twitter yesterday to speculate that Judge Analisa Torres will address XRP secondary market trading in her upcoming summary judgment decision.

The pro-XRP lawyer made this known yesterday while reacting to a remark by Marc Fagel, former SEC’s regional director. An XRP enthusiast named “DS” claimed Fagel asserted that the judge is unlikely to address XRP secondary market trading.

“According to Marc_Fagel, a former SEC San Francisco regional director, Judge Torres’ ruling in the SEC vs. Ripple is unlikely to address the issue of secondary market trading. Would you agree?” DS tweeted.

Deaton Disagrees With Fagel

In response, attorney Deaton, who represents thousands of XRP investors as amici curiae counsel in the Ripple lawsuit, disagreed with Fagel.

Deaton stressed that no one knows what Judge Torres will comment on in the upcoming summary judgment.

“[…] As a general rule, a judge usually only addresses what she/he needs to address,” said Deaton.

He added that while Judge Torres does not need to address secondary market sales to determine whether Ripple sold XRP as an investment contract, she could also rule on smaller issues without touching secondary market transactions.

Attorney Deaton expressed confidence that Judge Torres will deal with XRP secondary market trading in her upcoming ruling.

3 Reasons Why Judge Torres Will Address XRP Secondary Market Sales

To back his stance, the pro-XRP lawyer highlighted three major reasons why he believes the judge will address XRP’s secondary market trading.

Firstly, he noted that the SEC’s summary judgment motion requires the judge to address the secondary market trading of XRP. Per Deaton, the SEC argued in its brief for summary judgment that purchasing XRP was/is an investment in a common enterprise with other investors and Ripple.

The commission further argues that if any country accepts XRP as a legal tender, such a transaction will still be an investment contract. For the SEC, XRP is the common enterprise that links all XRP investors to Ripple.

Furthermore, Deaton highlighted that the SEC’s argument about XRP is not limited to Ripple’s sales; it also includes secondary market sales of the crypto asset. According to Deaton, Judge Torres will go out of her way by not discussing XRP secondary sales and the token itself.

Secondly, Deaton believes the numerous amicus briefs filed in the lawsuit by him on behalf of XRP holders, Coinbase, SpendTheBits, TapJets, Blockchain Association, and Chamber of Digital Commerce will prompt the judge to address the coin’s secondary market sales.

Notably, Judge Torres not addressing XRP secondary market trading will imply that she would remain silent on the issue despite the numerous amicus curiae briefs.

Deaton Plans to Participate in the Penalty Phase of Ripple Lawsuit

Lastly, Deaton asserts that the judge is aware that secondary market trading was discussed in the penalty phase of the SEC vs. LBRY lawsuit.

Deaton, who represented tech journalist Naomi Brockwell in the LBRY case, said if the judge does not address XRP secondary market sales and Ripple loses at summary judgment, he would file a motion for leave to participate in the penalty phase of the Ripple lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Deaton said the fact that the judge who presided over the LBRY case allowed him to participate does not mean Judge Torres will make a similar decision.

The CryptoLaw founder pointed out that the SEC did not object to his motion to participate as amicus curiae in the LBRY lawsuit because they had no idea he made the request. He asked the community to comment on whether the SEC would object to his request to participate in the penalty stage of the Ripple lawsuit.

I disagree. With that said, no one knows until she writes her opinion and, as a general rule, a judge usually only addresses what she/he needs to address. Now, on one hand, she doesn’t “need” to address secondary market sales to decide whether Ripple offered/sold XRP as an… https://t.co/lQhJdF5Kbu

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) June 18, 2023