The ongoing legal battle between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking a new turn as Judge Analisa Torres has just approved the appearance of an investment banking declarant in the case.
According to court documents, the approved declarant is Andrew A. Kunsak of Sidley Austin LLP, and he is being onboarded so as to avoid revealing the confidential information order sealed by the court. The particular order in question here refers to both the SEC's motion to seal the Hinman Documents, as well as the request from Ripple Labs to lock information relating to the financials of its defending executives.
Recent moves by the judge are to ensure that all rulings are received in good faith by all parties involved. The judge declared back in July that XRP is not a security when traded on secondary markets, a ruling that the markets regulator has filed an interlocutory request to appeal.
While legal experts have discounted any form of a threat in the intended appeal, it showcases that there is more fight left in the lawsuit until the judge gives the final verdict.
Is precedent still set?
The Ripple v. SEC lawsuit has a deep significance for the broader digital currency ecosystem as it will form a strong precedent that related cases emanating in the ecosystem can trail.
With the market regulator bringing an indictment on Coinbase and Binance exchange, many prominent tokens, including Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC), among others, have been in the crosshairs of the regulator as investment contracts.
Should Ripple win its case against the SEC, the regulator may have no strong case to pursue other related indictments on tokens changing hands on secondary markets.
Vladislav Sopov
Yuri Molchan