- Ripple advocate and lawyer says there’s no evidence XRP is a security.
- The timeline for the summary judgment remains unknown.
The debate on whether XRP as a digital currency is a security or a commodity will continually take center stage as one of the most volatile subjects in the industry at this time. In his characteristic manner, the Pro-Ripple attorney, John Deaton has waded into the subject again, sharing another reason why he believes the payment digital currency does not qualify to be called a security.
According to the law veteran, investment in an asset or the sale thereof at the secondary market does not constitute a security. Deaton is the first source of information as it concerns the ongoing Ripple and the US SEC lawsuit and in one of his latest tweets, he has described all possible scenarios that the case may trail.
The Four Case Scenarios
Taking to Twitter, his favorite social media platform, Deaton presented a 4 case scenario that he is expecting may be the turn of events for the lawsuit. First, he noted that the best-case scenario will be for Ripple to record an outright win with the Judge “smacking the SEC for gross overreach and behavior in the case.”
Deaton noted in his comment that “Judge Netburn has commented SEC lawyers are hypocrites, lack faithful allegiance to the law, and only care about winning the next argument” and as such might showcase a favorable leaning toward Ripple in the case.
Deaton also noted that the next best outcome will be the Judge ruling that Ripple sold XRP as an investment contract in the early stages of the token’s existence. According to him, the Judge can lean in this direction based on the prospectus sent to the first 100 investors. This way, the Judge can rule that the secondary sales of the XRP coins do not constitute a security.
It is worth noting that the other two outcomes which might likely favor the SEC can largely see the case referred to a jury that can further dig into the facts thus prolonging the status quo. In all, Deaton is optimistic that several references attest to the fact that XRP is just a piece of code with evidence coming even from top government agencies including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the much-protected Hinman Speech.
Potential Waiting Time for the Ripple and SEC Case
There is a lot of growing anticipation concerning the Ripple SEC judgment with many industry stakeholders noting when the summary judgment may likely be issued.
Shedding insights on this, Deaton said there is no exact deadline as to when the final decision will be passed. He said the judgment could take as much as 60 days.
There is no deadline of today for her to rule. The decision could come out within the next hour, or it could take another 30-60 days. Based on previous cases, Judge Torres has issued her ruling on summary judgment within a couple of months of her Daubert/Experts’ decision.