SEC v. Ripple: Attorney Representing 64K XRP Holders Trying to Predict SEC's Next Move

The court order to disclose three sets of documents in the SEC v. Ripple case was like opening a Pandora’s box as the XRP community tried to catch up on what the evidence might mean. The three documents were Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s statement, Ripple Executive Chairman Chris Larsen’s email series, and Garlinghouse’s email series.

Now popular crypto lawyer John Deaton, who represents more than 64,000 XRP holders in the case, has shared his opinion.

Time to place your bets

Speaking of Garlinghouse and Larsen’s largely private emails, Deaton declared,

“It will be nearly impossible to prove a true correlation between #XRP‘s price and public announcements by @Ripple (ie partnerships). The SEC must also prove that Garlinghouse and Larsen were sold #XRP in America.”

calling the unsealed emails and legal notes “barely relevant”, the attorney further questioned whether the SEC would attempt to claim that Ripple created XRP’s secondary market. He declared that the SEC could try this if it struggles to prove that Garlinghouse and Larsen sold XRP in the US.

However, it is important to note how Deaton claimed that, despite his amicus attorney or “friend of the court,” he failed to show the unsealed documents.

a second opinion

Attorney Jeremy Hogan also attempted to analyze the two sets of emails from a legal perspective. Specifically, he pointed out that the SEC could use some written material to try and prove that Ripple’s executives had plans to increase the price of XRP. However, Hogan stressed that due to the private nature of the emails, this would be a difficult debate for the SEC.

Like Deaton, Hogan also noted how the materials seemed to emphasize the degree of separation between Ripple as a company and individual XRP holders.

In addition, Hogan reminded the XRP community that more documents will be made public on February 17. It would probably be easier to formulate more definitive theories after that day.

Ripple holds his chin up

The San Francisco-based blockchain company may be struggling at home, but its annual performance report revealed greater luck abroad. For starters, the company confirmed that in 2021 RippleNet had its “most successful and lucrative year”.

However, despite the sunny tone of his Q4 report, Ripple General Counsel Stuart Alderoty expressed frustration with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and the many delays in the SEC v. Ripple case.

Because that is, after all, why the SEC is playing the delay card and using it to their advantage. So much for “judgment deferred, justice has been denied”. What about publicly pledging to move the Ripple case as “quickly” as possible with no delays? 4/4

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) January 12, 2022