Will Ripple and SEC Settle? XRP Lawyer Weighs In

CryptoLaw founder John Deaton, who is also the XRP holders’ attorney, has offered his take on a potential settlement in the Ripple lawsuit.

As anticipation grew for the summary judgment verdict in the case, much conjecture arose about a potential settlement before the ruling.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated at the time that the only ground for settlement before the summary judgment decision was if the SEC deemed XRP not to be a security.

As the pressure built, Deaton, however, ruled out the likelihood of a settlement before the case’s summary judgment outcome, which played out as he predicted.

Now that the summary judgment verdict has been issued partially in favor of Ripple and XRP has been ruled non-security, Deaton discusses whether a settlement is still conceivable at this point in the dispute.

The CryptoLaw founder was responding to a tweet by an XRP community member who posed a question about what was preventing a settlement on the remaining issues.

Ripple’s planned party on Sept. 29 in New York City has also sparked speculation. Ripple has begun accepting registrations for the event, which it refers to as a “proper party.”

CEO Brad Garlinghouse addressed the occasion in a tweet, writing, “As promised, it’s time for that proper victory party. The last few years have been quite the journey, and I look forward to sharing a celebratory toast on September 29 in NYC.”

Given this, speculation is in place for either an announcement on settlement or an IPO at the event.

Claiming to have no insider information, John Deaton believes there will be no announcement of an IPO or settlement at the upcoming Ripple party because the SEC will not approve an IPO while seeking a permanent injunction against Ripple about future institutional sales of XRP as well as its executives.

Will Ripple settle with SEC?

Deaton believes that the only way Ripple and the SEC could settle before the end of the year is if Judge Failla grants Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the SEC lawsuit, or partially grants it if she finds that token sales on an exchange in a blind bid/ask transaction do not fall under U.S. securities laws but allow the staking issue to proceed.

If this occurs, according to Deaton, the SEC and its head, Gary Gensler, may be forced to pivot. He doubts that the Solicitor General would allow an appeal in that scenario, one that could reach the Supreme Court, allowing the High Court to further limit the SEC’s jurisdiction and the power of all other federal agencies.