Ripple objects to SEC’s relief suggestion

Ripple Labs Inc. has objected to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s suggestion that it may seek additional time and pages if other amici curiae (Latin for friends of the court) submit briefs, as the lawsuit the SEC filed in 2020 against Ripple drags on.

See related article: SEC, Ripple seek summary judgment in attempt to speed up XRP lawsuit

Fast facts

• In a letter filed on Tuesday, Ripple said the SEC’s suggestion is “yet another transparent attempt to further delay resolution of this case and the Court should reject it.”
• This came after the SEC filed on Monday a response to the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s motion to submit an amicus curiae brief, and said the SEC may seek further relief for additional time or pages from the court if more such briefs are submitted.
• An amicus curiae brief is typically filed by a person or organization that isn’t a party to a case but would petition the court for permission to submit a brief intending to influence the court’s decision.
• On Saturday, the SEC and Ripple each filed a motion asking Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to make a summary judgment, in an effort to conclude the lawsuit without going to trial.
• In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple alleging that its sale of XRP — the native token of XRP Ledger which powers Ripple’s payment network — constituted an offering of unregistered securities worth over US$1.38 billion. The SEC also named Ripple’s executive chairman Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse as co-defendants for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s moves.
• XRP, the seventh-largest coin by market capitalization, was trading up 8.34% over the past 24 hours at US$0.4111 at 1 p.m. Hong Kong time, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The token rose 22% over the past seven days.

See related article: Cryptocurrency lobby group seeks to weigh in on SEC vs Ripple’s XRP lawsuit