Ripple v. SEC: Crypto Lawyer Predicts Settlement and Appeal Direction

CryptoLaw founder John Deaton has revealed his expectations regardinf the path of settlement and appeal in the Ripple lawsuit. He was responding to a user who asked if a partial settlement and partial appeal that could end up in the Supreme Court were possible in the Ripple lawsuit.

IMO Ripple would pay $100-250M in a settlement IF the SEC agreed publicly that current and future sales of XRP are not securities. The SEC is NOT going to agree to that in the middle of its war 🆚 crypto. Judge Torres could provide clarity on secondary sales which isn’t appealed.

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) February 21, 2023

Deaton said that, in his own opinion, Ripple would pay $100-250 million in a settlement if the SEC publicly agreed that current and future sales of XRP are not securities.

Amid its campaign against cryptocurrency, the SEC was not going to consent to that, Deaton continued, and Judge Torres could provide clarity on secondary sales that are not being appealed.

The user's question follows Ripple General Counsel Stuart Alderoty's statements that the SEC had a slim chance of winning in the Supreme Court. 

According to Alderoty, the SEC has suffered defeat in four out of the five cases that reached the Supreme Court:

"The SEC has lost 4 of its last 5 cases in the Supreme Court, thanks to the few that had the courage and resources to fight back against the SEC’s bullying and clinging to stretch legal positions that were not faithful to the law," he said.

Deaton referred to Alderoty's remarks by stating that Ripple's summary judgment brief was already an extremely well-written appellate brief. Additionally, he expressed confidence that Ripple would prevail in the Supreme court and that the SEC's gross overreach would be "shut down."

Deaton earlier predicted that the Ripple case may not settle until after a decision is obtained from Judge Torres. 

He clarified his prediction that a settlement could occur after the decision, eliminating the possibility of either a jury trial or an appeal.