Can The SEC’s Potential Appeal Affect The Issuance of RLUSD?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has until October 7 to decide whether to appeal a recent ruling by Judge Analisa Torres regarding XRP in the Ripple case. According to experts, the chances of an appeals court overturning Judge Torres’s decision are low, given that her ruling was based on specific facts and lacked expert testimony on XRP holders.

If the SEC does appeal, it would likely return to Judge Torres, who might reaffirm her ruling. Some legal analysts, like Fred Rispoli, argue that the SEC could win if it randomly selects friendly judges, but this is considered unlikely.

Former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel addressed some misconceptions surrounding the Ripple case. In response to a user who claimed that a settlement had already been reached between Ripple and the SEC, Fagel clarified the situation. The user argued that until an appeal is filed, the fine paid to the SEC should be considered a settlement.

Fagel countered, stating, “You’re misunderstanding how litigation works in the U.S. There is no settlement, which involves an agreement between both parties. Instead, there is a final judgment from the court that orders Ripple to pay penalties for its legal violations. Whether the parties choose to appeal that judgment is a separate matter.”

During a discussion about whether the SEC should pursue the Ripple case, facing the uncertainty of an appeals court, or focus on cases against exchanges like Coinbase, former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel responded, stressing the relevance of the Coinbase and Binance cases to current enforcement priorities. 

He said that these cases would address secondary sales more directly. However, he also acknowledged that the Ripple ruling on programmatic sales poses challenges for the SEC, even outside the exchange context.

When a user questioned how long the trial will continue and if it will affect the issuance of RLUSD, Marc said, “If they appeal, the average time for a ruling in the Second Circuit is about 10-11 months. But depending on how that goes, it could then end up back at the trial court for further proceedings. (Or elsewhere.)” However, he did not clarify the RLUSD part yet.