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Ripple is now well on its approach to putting its extended legal battle with the SEC behind it, and a settlement is finally in sight. Prominent lawyer and XRP supporter John E. Deaton recently contributed his two cents, noting how a settlement would be the best case for Ripple. According to the attorney, it is a 99.9% victory if Ripple ends up paying $20 million or less in settlement.

A Lengthy Legal Battle Almost Getting To An End

The legal tussle between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and payment giant Ripple has dragged on for quite a while. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in 2020, alleging that Ripple’s XRP token is an unregistered security. This shocking lawsuit sent shockwaves through the crypto community and XRP’s price growth remained stunted until the second part of this year. 

Ripple secured partial victory for XRP in court, as the sales of the crypto to retail investors was deemed not to be sales of securities. Although federal Judge Analisa Torres rejected the SEC’s motion to appeal the Ripple ruling, the case is still in court as the category of the early sale of XRP to institutional investors is still yet to be determined. An order on the SEC and Ripple’s request to propose the next steps on the judgement regarding institutional sales of XRP was recently approved.

The consensus among industry experts is that Ripple has won a partial victory with a score of 50-50, and that the next stage will be to reach a settlement. On the other hand, Deaton is of the opinion that the judge ruled “more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favor.” 

The people who’ve argued that the SEC got a 50-50 victory in the @Ripple case are ? wrong. It was more like 90-10 in Ripple’s favor. If Ripple ends up paying $20M or less it’s a 99.9% legal victory. https://t.co/Xe6SYBiTCJ

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) November 4, 2023

Deaton made this known in a reply on social media to another post about the SEC’s setback in SEC v Govil. According to Deaton, a $20 million settlement payment or less would be a huge win for the blockchain company. It’s important to note that Deaton has suggested in the past that the SEC wants a $770 million settlement. 

Another loss this week for the SEC – the streak continues. The 2d Circuit in SEC v Govil held that the SEC can’t ask for a crippling disgorgement award w/o first proving that “investors” suffered actual financial harm. In other words, no harm, no foul.

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) November 3, 2023

The SEC has since dropped its separate lawsuit against Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, and Co-founder, Chris Larsen. However, Larsen believes the regulator should be held accountable for its baseless witch hunt and the chaos which it created.

XRP market cap currently at $34.542 billion. Chart: TradingView.com

Precedent For Future Crypto Lawsuits

The final outcome of Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC will have major implications for the entire crypto industry. It would provide clarity on how the SEC determines if a digital asset qualifies as a security. 

As of right now, XRP is the only crypto with regulatory clearance in the US.  On the other hand, executives of SafeMoon were recently arrested by the US Department Of Justice for perpetrating a massive fraud on its investors.

Featured image from Shutterstock