Ripple has been engrossed in a legal battle with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the last two years. It is one of the most talked about lawsuits in the crypto ecosystem.
However, it seems the two-year-long legal tussle is ending— as both parties replied to each other's opposition to motions for summary judgment.
You would recall that the case began in December 2020 when the SEC initiated the legal action. The SEC approached the court against Ripple, claiming it had raised $1.3 billion— by offering XRP, its native cryptocurrency, as unregistered securities.
This formed the basis of the legal tussle that seems to be coming to an end soon.
In the first week of December, the defendants, Ripple, Bradley Garlinghoue, and Chris Larsen, filed their redacted reply to the SEC's opposition to the crypto company's motion for Summary Judgment in the XRP lawsuit.
The motion talks about the recent decision in LBRY vs. SEC case. It requests the court to grant the defendants Summary Judgment.
Stuart Alderoty, the General Counsel, emphasized that they have played straight with the court. He added that they are proud of the defence they have gained on behalf of the entire crypto industry. This statement aims to cast a positive assertion on the company and other defendants.
Furthermore, the CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, identified the lawsuit as "the fight" for all players in the crypto industry— against the irregularities of the regulatory agency. He said the fight is to get clearer regulations for the entire industry.
Similarly, he said Ripple, alongside other defendants, stood strong and withstood the "regulatory body's onslaught."
You would recall that on 30 November, James Filan, a former federal prosecutor highlighted the three issues that need to be resolved in the legal tussle. They include the summary judgment motions, sealing issues regarding the "expert reports," and expert challenges.
Significantly, Ripple and the SEC rely on the Hinman documents in filing these motions.
Similarly, Filan revealed that the Judge (would likely) tackle the three big issues together. He said Judge Torres will decide on everything and release "one big written ruling"— likely on or before 31 March 2023.
Furthermore, the crypto company seeks to clarify that the SEC has failed to prove that it offered XRP between 2013 and 2020. That is, the offering of XRP was an offer or sale of an "investment contract" — and, therefore, a security under federal security laws.
Ripple asked the court to "grant the defendant's motion and deny the SEC's motion."
Similarly, Ripple's General Counsel, Stuart Alderoty, tweeted that this is the defendant's "final submission," asking the court to grant judgment in its favor.
At the time of writing, XRP is changing hands at around $0.39, up by a mere 0.86%.
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