SEC vs. Ripple: Activity Heated Ahead of May 6 Response
XRP outperformed the broader crypto market from Monday April 29 to Saturday May 4, rising 4.08% to $0.5309.
Activity related to the SEC v. Ripple case has garnered investors’ attention as Ripple and the SEC navigated the appeals portion of the case.
On Monday, April 29, the SEC filed a brief opposing Ripple’s strike motion.
Ripple filed the motion to strike the testimony of SEC enforcement accountant Andrea Fox. The SEC included testimony and exhibits (the Fox Statement) in its opening remedial brief. Importantly, the SEC used the testimony and exhibits to argue for a nearly $2 billion penalty and injunction.
The court must decide whether the Fox statement introduced new evidence and whether Fox is an expert or a summary witness. Ripple argued that the SEC failed to provide her name and testimony during discovery and could not impeach her. The SEC argued that Andrea Fox was a sketchy witness and failed to disclose new testimony.
On Thursday, Ripple filed its brief in response to the strike petition. Ripple argued that the Fox statement summarized Ripple’s financial statements and introduced new testimony. Significantly, Ripple disputed that it was not given the opportunity to remove Andrea Fox.
Various outcomes are possible. Given the advanced stage of the case, the court could reject the strike request but allow Ripple to remove Andrea Fox.
While there will be interest in the decision on the strike motion, the focus remains on the outcome. The SEC is expected to file its corrective action response by Monday, May 6, after which the court will issue its decision on the sanction for violations of U.S. securities laws.
