Concerns about the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple case impacted buyer demand for XRP as another court deadline loomed. The quarterly report provided important updates from Q1 2024, highlighting the SEC’s demand for an almost $2 billion penalty for breaching US securities laws.
Ripple expects a court ruling on the penalty within the coming months, after which the SEC may appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling. The continued threat of an SEC appeal remained an XRP headwind.
Recent wins for the SEC could incentivize the SEC to file an appeal after a failed motion for interlocutory appeal in 2023.
SEC Wins Incentivize an Appeal Against the Programmatic Sales of XRP Ruling
In December, Judge Rakoff ruled Terraform Labs and Do Kwon had breached US securities laws for failing to register Luna and TerraUSD as securities. Judge Rakoff criticized the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling in August, stating that Judge Torres made an error when ruling that XRP was not a security when sold on exchanges.
However, the SEC v Coinbase (COIN) case may influence the SEC plans to appeal the Programmatic Sales ruling more. In March, Judge Failla denied, in large part, the Coinbase Motion to Dismiss (MTD).
Coinbase responded to the court ruling by filing a Motion for Interlocutory Appeal. If Judge Failla grants the motion, a successful appeal against the court ruling could impact the SEC plans for an appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling.
