The legal battle between SEC and Ripple Labs continues to extend.
Lately, the Blockchain company has also accused the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) of attempting to hide the identity of the agency’s expert witnesses during an ongoing case trial.
Ripple claims this behaviour of the SEC to conceal the identity of experts is unprecedented and not supported by any evidence.
“The SEC’s attempt to shield the identities and opinions of its experts from any public scrutiny is both unprecedented and unsupported by any evidence of need. It is antithetical to the right of the public to have access to substantive materials that will be critical to this Court’s upcoming rulings on the parties’ Daubert motions,” Ripple said.
What is the Ripple’s Verdict?
Reportedly, Ripple has asked the judge to dismiss the SEC’s request, which claims that the regulatory agency is trying to suppress public criticisms of its experts’ opinions. In addition, the SEC experts must also not hold any confidential information.
In other words, Ripple has asked the SEC to identify confidential information for redaction and allow both parties to make arguments before any further decision. Moreover, Ripple plans to explore IPO once $1.3 B SEC lawsuit Is resolved
Reportedly, SEC intends to protect the experts from harassment and other threats. Earlier, one of the expert’s identities was revealed, which caused safety threats since amici publicized his name. The SEC wants to seal expert testimony in the name of a “higher value” of protecting witness safety.
“If the court has not ruled on the SEC’s pending applications before 22 July (the proposed deadline for the parties’ motions to seal), the SEC intends to move to provisionally seal Defendants’ motion relating to the Expert as well the names and identifying information of the SEC’s other experts.”
As this legal battle continues, the SEC is up for a crucial meeting towards the month-end. Today, Ron Hammond, the Director of Government Relations at Blockchain Association, tweeted about the meeting.
This week in Congress and crypto: Congress approaches a tough 3 week summer stretch to address a lot of pressing issues. While crypto is by no means top of mind for Members right now, it will still be a busy month. Hearings, bills, and what else to expect this month from Congress
— Ron Hammond (@RonwHammond) July 11, 2022
He claimed this upcoming meeting as the “most high-profile” because SEC could discuss many topics. These might include pending crypto bills, SEC/CFTC jurisdiction, stablecoins, security laws, and tax clarity.
