Court Issues New Order for SEC in Its Appeal Against Ripple

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals issues a new directive to the U.S. SEC regarding its appeal against Ripple. 

Prominent defense lawyer James K. Filan called the public’s attention to the order, emphasizing that the Second Circuit has mandated the SEC to file its appellate brief by January 15, 2025. 

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has entered an Order that the @SECGov’s brief must be filed on or before January 15, 2025. pic.twitter.com/E3TE5tBDAy

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) November 1, 2024

This development comes a week after the SEC requested that the court set a deadline of January 15, 2025, for filing its appeal brief. Notably, the Second Circuit granted the request in an order dated October 31, 2024. 

Court Issues Dismissal Warnings to SEC 

However, the court warned the securities regulator that its appeal would be dismissed if it failed to file the appellate brief on or before the January 15, 2025 deadline. 

Furthermore, the Second Circuit highlighted that any request for a deadline extension will not extend the date. At press time, the SEC has 75 days to file its appellate brief detailing its argument in the appeal against the Ripple decision. 

SEC Upcoming Appeal Brief 

Last month, the commission filed its pre-argument statement, hinting about the part of the Ripple ruling it seeks to overturn. The SEC’s appeal revolves around Judge Torres’ decision on Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP on digital exchanges and the company’s use of XRP as a payment method (other distributions). 

As reported earlier, Judge Torres issued these rulings in Ripple’s favor, declaring that they do not constitute investment contracts. Per the SEC’s Form C filing, the SEC asked the Second Circuit to review these decisions from scratch without relying on Judge Torres’ reasoning. 

Also, the SEC revived its aiding and abetting charges against Ripple execs (Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse) in the appeal. Recall that the regulator dropped this case last year, initially scheduled for trial. However, it re-introduced the case in its pre-argument appeal statement. 

The SEC will provide an extensive argument on these issues in the upcoming appeal brief.  

XRP Enthusiasts Speculate SEC Might Drop Its Appeal 

In the meantime, several XRP proponents are confident the SEC would drop its lawsuit before the January 15 deadline. This view revolves around the potential exit of SEC Chair Gary Gensler following the inception of a new government administration. 

Specifically, Dan Thurman, an XRP community member, predicted that Gensler would exit the SEC between November and December. Afterward, Thurman expects that a new SEC administration come to power, which will drop the case before the deadline. 

While it remains unclear whether this prediction will come to fruition, the broader crypto community has focused on the forthcoming U.S. election. The community believes Trump is the best choice for the industry due to his pro-crypto promises, which include sacking Gensler on his first day in office.