However, another month passed without a ruling in the legal battle between Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although many lawyers from the XRP community have estimated that the chances of a ruling by the end of April are very high, Judge Torres of the District Court for the Southern District of New York has not yet issued a ruling.
But a few hours ago, a rumor has now surfaced on Twitter that could indicate that a decision in the legal battle between Ripple and the SEC is imminent. However, since this is an unconfirmed rumor from an anonymous source, it should be taken with a grain of salt.
The Blockchain Daily Twitter account mentioned that Ripple and the SEC will hold an unannounced meeting on May 8. The speculation now circulating on Twitter is that it could be about a settlement.
🚨 JUST IN: Few and seconds reported unannounced meeting May 8th – unconfirmed source pic.twitter.com/LNrUVCloQ1
– Blockchain Daily (@blckchaindaily) May 1, 2023
However, XRP community attorney John E. Deaton said:bet“The rumor is false. According to him, lawyers from the SEC and Ripple can meet anytime they want. I don’t think they’ll pick a date a week from now and then it gets leaked,” writes Deaton, who thinks the settlement won’t happen that way.
First, Deaton believes a settlement will only come after a ruling from Judge Torres, and only if Ripple wins a major victory, allowing Gensler to save face and score a political victory through the settlement.
Second, according to Deaton, the SEC will not schedule a meeting due to allegations of market manipulation and risk of leakage. He believes that Ripple and the SEC will “just meet,” which is why he hypothesized:
This unconfirmed source looks like someone wanted to stage a pump.
Why does Ripple settle after winning?
According to John Deaton, under certain circumstances, it might make sense for Ripple to enter into a settlement after a possible win over the SEC. This will be “not like two years ago,” but it will Depends on the decision and whether the SEC will appeal.
Ripple may also be concerned about the regulatory integrity of its partners. “Does Bank of America, a partner of Ripple, feel comfortable with the decision or wait to see if Judge Torres will be overturned if the SEC appeals her ruling. Remember, the SEC can file a notice of appeal and withdraw it later,” the attorney wrote.
Additionally, Deaton believes that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse would be happy to sign a settlement check if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classifies all future sales of XRP as non-securities and not appealable. Why? Because that would mean an immediate return of liquidity to the United States. But a settlement would also only be necessary if Judge Torres did not already provide for it in her ruling.
At the time of writing, the XRP price has not (significantly) reacted to the rumors. The market doesn’t seem to give it any credibility. XRP was trading at $0.4657.
Featured image from CoinPedia, chart from TradingView.com