The legal tussle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs has reached a critical stage as Judge Analisa Torres outlined a detailed schedule for the remedies discovery and briefing process. This development follows the dismissal of charges against individual Ripple executives, narrowing the case solely to Ripple as the defendant.
The timeline set by Judge Torres on Monday, November 13, 2023, marks February 12, 2024, as the commencement of a comprehensive examination of Ripple's alleged offenses. The SEC will then present its brief on potential remedies for Section 5 violations by March 13, 2024. Ripple Labs is expected to submit its opposition to the SEC's propositions by April 12, with the SEC's final response due by April 29, 2024. This sequence of filings will conclude the remedies phase of the litigation.
Both parties have agreed to a 90-day discovery period for all issues pertaining to the remedies. With a previous ruling in July 2023 deeming Ripple's institutional sales of XRP as an investment contract, Ripple now potentially faces a significant fine that could reach up to $770 million.
The legal proceedings have cast uncertainty over XRP's market position and price dynamics. Recently, XRP encountered resistance at the $0.68 price level and there are speculations about a possible 10% decline if it falls below the $0.59 support level.
In a separate but related incident, XRP experienced a temporary price surge reaching $0.66 following a deceptive BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) XRP Trust filing that led to a dramatic 250% increase in trading volume.
The outcome of this legal battle is highly anticipated within the cryptocurrency community and could have far-reaching implications for the industry. It comes at a time when regulatory scrutiny of digital assets is intensifying globally. The final judgment, in this case, is expected in July 2024, coinciding closely with the Wave of Innovation 2024 XRP Gold Coast Conference scheduled for April, where attorney John Deaton is set to discuss the intricacies of this high-profile case.