With its digital coin, XRP, Ripple Labs has been in the middle of a long drawn tussle with the SEC since 2020, and it looks like the latter has just scored a point, lengthening the trial even further.
SEC as we all know, is the financial market regulator in the US, and it has accused Ripple of issuing XRP as an unregistered security. If proven, it would be a clear violation of the US securities law. SEC’s claim is Ripple raised around $1.4 billion selling XRP, which is illegal and in violation of investor-protection rules. On the other hand, Ripple has always maintained that its XRP is just a means of making international payments and should not be looked at as an investment instrument.
SEC Gets Awarded the Extension
On January 21, 2022, the SEC filed two motions to extend the filing date from January 27 to February 17, 2022. The motions were presented to two Judges, Judge Torres and Judge Netburn, and it seems that Judge Netburn has found reasonable grounds to accept the SEC’s request. Lawyer James K. Filan’s tweet sheds light on this news.
This granting of SEC’s request is seen by many as something related to Justice Netburn’s reconsideration of the Deliberative Privilege Process decision, for which the defendant, in this case, had time until January 25, 2022, to respond. The privilege notably allows the government not to divulge testimonies or documents that reflect the pre-decision process of an agency.
Ripple’s Objection
In another tweet, James K. Filan explains how Ripple has expressed anguish over this additional delay and has already submitted a formal objection with the judge. Ripple has complained that the SEC is only trying to buy more time to add and modify its arguments based on new documents in its letter. The company states that the agency had enough time to make its case, and any new evidence must not be allowed to intervene with the case at this point.
The attorney for XRP holders, John E. Dalton, confirmed that no matter what the new development, in this case, is going to cause further delay. In his tweet dated January 25, 2022, he explained how the lawsuit could end in just 90 days only if the judge could produce internal SEC documents, lifting the deliberative privilege process. However, it seems the court is, for now, siding with the SEC, which means the fight is far from over for Ripple.
