Ripple Labs’s SEC lawsuit is looking likely to end with victory for the XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) developer. After a number of procedural wins and sympathetic opinions from lawyers, it appears that the crypto company will emerge victorious. It’s no guarantee, but it is a very real possibility. Recently, news broke that an influential capital markets attorney sympathized with Ripple’s due process arguments. That’s a major development that could influence public perception of Ripple’s legal battle. It also bodes well for the trial itself.
In this article, I will explore several solid reasons for believing that Ripple will emerge victorious in its SEC lawsuit, drawing on newly released legal commentary from attorney Joseph Hall.
Procedural wins
The most obvious sign that Ripple will win its lawsuit is the series of small wins it has racked up. Among other things, Ripple has succeeded in
- Forcing the SEC to hand over documents;
- Forcing previously classified documents to be unsealed; and
- Getting a deposition of a Judge who agreed that Ethereum isn’t a security.
All of these little procedural wins help lend credence to the notion that Ripple will eventually score a big legal victory. The more documents Ripple can force the SEC to hand over, the more material it has to build its case. The more witnesses (e.g., the pro-Ethereum judge) it can bring, the more information the court will hear that is favourable to Ripple. Over time, these little advantages can add up to a big edge in the case as a whole.
Lawyer sympathizes with Ripple
Another reason to believe that Ripple will prevail in its SEC lawsuit is that lawyer Jospeh Hall, who specializes in these things, recently said that he believed Ripple’s case has merit. Hall is a partner at the prestigious firm Davis Polk, whose practice focuses on capital markets — exactly the subject matter that Ripple’s case revolves around. For such a person to sympathize with Ripple is fortuitous for the company, as it indicates that a leading expert believes the company is right. In a recent podcast, Hall said the following:
“I’m not sure what the SEC is planning on proving through the XRP litigation either … I continue to be perplexed why the SEC decided to bring that case … Their entire regulatory project could be basically shut down they lose all their merits here, and I think there’s a pretty good chance that they will lose all the merits.”
Jospeh Hall, Davis Polk attorney.
Essentially, Hall thinks that the SEC’s case is so without merit that it shouldn’t have even been brought! That’s definitely a positive sign for Ripple. Although Hall is not himself involved in the case, lawyers tend to have a lot of experience dealing with judges in their practice areas and familiarity with how they think. So, if Hall thinks this way, there’s a good chance that the judge does, too.
What does this mean for XRP investors?
A win by Ripple over the SEC would be indisputably bullish for XRP holders. Were the SEC to win, XRP would be considered a security and would be subject to all kinds of regulations it is not currently subject to. These regulations may make it not worthwhile for Ripple to continue working on XRP. At minimum, Ripple would have to pay out enormous sums to plaintiffs, which would threaten its organization. If it wins, none of these costs would be part of the conversation, and XRP will continue to enjoy the continued support of Ripple Labs.
