Was 2024 the most important year?

TL;DR

The Ripple v. SEC case culminated in August when Judge Torres ordered the company to pay a $125 million fine for violating certain securities laws. The penalty represented a substantial reduction from what the regulator had initially sought. The election victory of Donald Trump and the announced resignation of Gary Gensler fueled optimism among XRP supporters, hoping that the pro-crypto leadership would favorably influence the resolution of the case. The first half of the year

2024 has been quite an eventful year for the legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). During the first months of the year, both entities presented different motions to prepare for the start of the trial.

For example, the SEC asked Ripple to release essential documents such as the company’s financial statements for 2022 and 2023 and its post-filing XRP sales contracts. The firm opposed the lawsuit, maintaining that those records were untimely and unrelated to the case.

That prompted the agency to resubmit the motion, claiming the documents could provide essential information about Ripple’s financial history and help determine whether the company violated specific securities regulations. The company responded with a motion to file a response letter, seeking to “correct a significant factual mischaracterization made by the SEC.”

Ultimately, Judge Sarah Netburn ruled in favor of the Commission, ordering Ripple to disclose its financial records for the years 2022-2023.

The two entities continued to submit documents and data until the beginning of the test phase. As reported by CryptoPotato, the legal proceedings between Ripple and the SEC reached this crucial stage on April 23rd.

While many industry participants raised their hopes that this could be a sign of a settlement coming soon, the complexity of the court process and potential appeals from both sides mean the case could drag on a few more years. In May, the popular American lawyer Jeremy Hogan stated that the lawsuit had entered a stage with less news, and both entities had to wait for the judge’s decision.

Ripple and the SEC continued to throw jabs at each other, clashing over the testimony of a key witness and arguing over the size of the company’s potential fine for violating certain laws.

The watchdog sought a $2 billion penalty on the company, alleging that it had conducted an unregistered securities offering by selling its XRP token. Ripple disagreed, insisting that the amount should not exceed $10 million. He compared his case to another legal battle between the agency and Terraform Labs, saying the fraud allegations are only present in the second lawsuit.

Court decision

In August, Judge Analisa Torres ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million civil penalty for violating federal securities laws through its institutional sales of XRP. It is worth noting that in the summer of 2023, the same magistrate found that the company’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail customers through centralized exchanges did not violate the rules.

Many industry participants saw the August ruling as a big win for Ripple, considering the fine represents just a fraction of what the SEC initially sought. Company executives also seemed pleased. CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company respects the court’s decision, while CLO Stuart Alderoty said the organization will pay the penalty in cash from its balance sheet.

However, the SEC officially appealed in October, causing a new wave of uncertainty. The action assumes that the claim entered a new phase consisting of the presentation and an information process.

Donald Trump takes the stage

Many crypto advocates applauded Trump’s victory in the US presidential election (held on November 5). Supporters of Ripple and its native witness were also among the group because of the Republican’s promise to remove SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on Day 1 after taking office.

Gensler has been at the helm for more than three years, during which time the agency has filed numerous lawsuits against crypto companies.

Although some doubted Trump could fire him (since the SEC operates as an independent entity), the president said he would step down in January of next year. In addition, the newly elected President of the States chose the pro-crypto Paul Atkins to succeed him.

The XRP Army hopes that the Commission’s next leadership will adopt a less hostile stance towards the cryptocurrency industry and push the case against Ripple to a favorable resolution soon.

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