The ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs Inc. and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may end this week with a settlement between the two parties, as the SEC has scheduled a closed-door meeting for Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Will Ripple’s Case Against the SEC Be Settled This Week?
Brett Hill, Ambassador of Bitrue Cryptocurrency Exchange, excited “The speculation was fueled by a tweet by X. Hill, accompanied by a screenshot of the SEC announcement, which read: “Boom! Special executive meeting at their Washington HQ this Thursday (July 18-24)! Reliable sources tell us this meeting is related to the Ripple vs SEC decisions and the conclusion of the court case! #XRP.”
It is worth noting that the official announcement from the SEC details the nature of the meeting, but does not specifically mention the Ripple case. However, the topics listed for discussion include “institution and settlement of lawsuits,” “institution and settlement of administrative proceedings,” and “resolution of lawsuits.” Such topics suggest that the meeting may indeed involve major developments in the Ripple case.
The announcement indicates that the meeting will be held at the Committee’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., but remote participation is also possible. The non-public status of the meeting is based on the General Counsel’s certification that the discussion falls within several exemptions under 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) and 17 CFR 200.402(a). These exemptions relate to matters such as privacy (c)(6), law enforcement procedures (c)(7), financial or business information (c)(4), and internal employee rules and practices (c)(2).
This points to the sensitivity of the discussions, which are likely to relate to ongoing enforcement proceedings, which in this context could include the Ripple lawsuit. The announcement also provides transparency regarding potential changes to the timeline, with updates promised on the SEC’s official website, indicating the fluid nature of such enforcement discussions.
The SEC is currently seeking a $102.6 million fine from Ripple, a significant reduction from the nearly $2 billion originally sought. In its defense, Ripple proposed a maximum penalty of $10 million, similar to the resolution of the Terraform Labs case. However, the SEC rejected that proposal in its response memorandum, arguing that such a nominal amount would be inconsistent with the purpose of civil penalties laws.
It’s worth noting that some pro-XRP lawyers have said the chances of a settlement in the case are slim. Fred Rispoli, founder of Hodl Law, recently commented on the matter, stating that “a pre-judgment settlement is unlikely, although some of the unresolved arguments could still be negotiated.”
At the time of publishing this report, XRP was trading at $0.53.
Featured image created using DALL E, chart from TradingView.com