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- Lawyer John E. Deaton criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s handling of the Ripple case, calling it legally unfounded and misleading.
- XRP saw a slight decline on Wednesday, July 31, losing 0.72% and partially reversing a 4.27% rally.
XRP saw a slight decline on Wednesday, July 31, losing 0.72% and partially reversing a 4.27% rally from the previous day. For the investors, the ongoing lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple Labs is still of significant concern. Recent statements by John E. Deaton, an American lawyer, and a candidate for the United States Senate in Massachusetts have raised awareness on the matter.
Deaton who was the lead attorney for 75,000 XRP holders in the case, has been vocal on what he believes are misdeeds by SEC Chair Gary Gensler. He characterized Gensler’s approach in the Ripple case as legally unfound and accused the SEC of misguiding the court.
This is further evidence that @GaryGensler should resign immediately. In the @Ripple case, I was forced to sue the @SECGov and file a Motion to Intervene in order to protect retail investors. In that case, I argued Gensler and the SEC were violating 76 years of established case… https://t.co/KqOl9PHZM4
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) July 30, 2024
Potential Settlement Options Emerge in Ripple Case
According to Judge Analisa Torres in a ruling made in July 2023, programmatic sales of XRP did not meet the third prong of the Howey Test. According to Deaton, this came as a relief to XRP and put pressure on the SEC to change its position. The recent decisions made by the SEC in the Binance case, which withdrew some charges, may have been a sign of changing tactics under political and legal pressure.
Amid rising concerns, the SEC has planned a closed meeting on Thursday, August 1. This has raised questions on whether the SEC and Ripple are in discussion to come to an agreement. The Sunshine Act Notice reveals that the following topics will be discussed during the meeting: institution and settlement of injunctive actions. This has led to speculation that the SEC might drop its plans to appeal the Programmatic Sales ruling, paving the way for a settlement.
Pro-crypto lawyer Bill Morgan has also shed light on such possibilities as settlements, including appeal rights in the case of dispute. The agency’s remedies-related brief from March 2024, where the SEC asked for a $2 billion penalty and an injunction against the sales of XRP to institutional investors is still a hot issue. Although Ripple may prefer a settlement to a legal battle, accepting an injunction that would restrict XRP sales to institutional investors may be a contentious issue.
XRP Price Reacts Strongly to Legal Developments
The legal movements have significantly influenced the price of XRP. For instance, on July 13, 2023, XRP spiked from $0. 4696 to $0. 9327 after the Programmatic Sales ruling, which shows that the market reacts to legal decisions.
The XRP market capitalization has now risen to $36 billion with a daily trading volume of $2. 9 billion. This rally has been fueled by bullish sentiments and technical indicators pointing to further upside. Crypto trader and analyst Tony Severino pointed out the XRP Bollinger Bands, which could be a sign of a “mega breakout’ for XRP. These bands have not been witnessed since 2018, when XRP had a 60,000% price surge.
$XRP monthly Bollinger Bands are the tightest ever
Tighter than before the historic 60,000% rally that ended in early 2018 pic.twitter.com/OFTTkcDxDU
— Tony "The Bull" Severino, CMT (@tonythebullBTC) July 30, 2024
It is highly unlikely that the price of XRP will again increase by 60,000% as it did. The market capitalization of XRP reached about $130 billion in January 2018, which was a 600-fold increase in one year.
