SEC, Ripple Agree To Extend Legal Battle Until 2023; XRP Bears The Brunt Of Case

Executives of Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed to prolong the timeline of their lawsuit and postpone court proceedings until the end of 2022, implying that their legal standoff would likely last well into next year.

Both parties jointly requested the extension in a letter to Judge Sarah Netburn, who has been presiding over the case. Judge Netburn granted approval of the revised schedule.

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How Case Vs. Ripple Began

Between 2013 and 2020, Ripple Labs raised $1.3 billion in capital through the sale of XRP tokens.

When the SEC filed a complaint against Ripple near the end of 2020, there were no indications from the SEC that Ripple was under scrutiny.

And Ripple was already trading on over 200 exchanges at the time.

The SEC, on the other hand, concluded that Christian Larsen, Ripple’s co-founder, and Bradley Garlinghouse, Ripple’s current CEO, illegally raised cash because XRP was not a registered securities but was offered to investors around the world.

Legal Showdown Until Before Christmas

The joint letter’s new provisions require the defense to file statements and any motions against expert witnesses by August 2, while objections must be filed by November 2. Additionally, any resistance must be responded to by December 20.

The revised timeline follows the SEC’s request for an extension to file an objection to Judge Netburn’s decision on the Motion for Reconsideration of the DPP Ruling. This was the regulator’s second request for an extension in the matter.

XRP total market cap at $31.56 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Defense attorney James Filan shared a tweet from Ripple defense lawyer Stuart Alderoty, who said:

“To all that have been following the case thus far – thank you. Know that Ripple is working hard (and the Court is pushing hard) to resolve the case as soon as possible, despite the SEC time and again doing everything they can to delay.”

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Parties file joint scheduling letter proposing opening briefs for summary judgment and expert challenges in August and closing briefs a few days before Christmas. pic.twitter.com/DBVkl3LQXU

— James K. Filan 90k+ (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) April 22, 2022

XRP Price Analysis

Meanwhile, XRP was up 0.26 percent to $0.7073 at the time of writing. The crypto declined 1.70 percent on Saturday and ended the day at $0.7055, down 2.06 percent from Friday’s close.

On April 24, Ripple’s XRP fell for the fourth consecutive day, and the latest update had no discernible effect on the price.

XRP must break over the pivot point of $0.7117 in order to reach the first major resistance level at $0.7204. To break out of the $0.7150 range, XRP would require wide crypto market support.

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The cryptocurrency is now trading at 82% of its all-time high of $3.84194.

Through the week, XRP trailed the broader crypto market, which was weighed down by market risk aversion.

XRP has also been pushed down by news updates on the Ripple vs. SEC case, which has challenged support at $0.70.

Featured image from Times Tabloid, chart from TradingView.com