SEC vs. Ripple: SEC files Letter of Supplemental Authority

The legal clash between the SEC and Ripple has a new update. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has now filed a Letter of Supplemental Authority.

The US agency aims to offer an extra-legal precedent to boost its motion for a summary judgment. A few days ago, a District of Massachusetts court released an opinion against the Commonwealth Equity Services’ support for the SEC. 

The district opposed the SEC’s motion for summary judgment that denied Ripple’s cross-motion for the same. The agency believes that the decision will support the SEC and will ruin the future of Ripple. 

Filed back in 2019, the case started with the SEC suing CEO John Rooney and Commonwealth for violating multiple federal security laws. The framework claimed that the parties engaged in deceptive sales practices that involved conflicts of interest and misrepresentation. 

As expected, the SEC won the case, but surprisingly, the court did not accept a procedural defense. The defense revolved around the SEC not providing adequate notice to the defendant for the alleged obligations. According to the SEC, Ripple’s fair notice argument is as inapplicable as it was for the Commonwealth.

The parallel has been drawn since the Commonwealth also argued that a 50-year-old court’s precedent about disclosure obligations was insufficient for fair notice. But the court’s decision favored the SEC, mentioning that fair notice was provided to the Commonwealth.

What would this mean for the future of XRP? Ripple’s legal team has not seen any strong arguments in the proposed letter. Jeremy Hogan, a famous attorney, has already discussed the case’s technological issue. If Judge Torres accepts the notion of decentralization and technology, Ripple might win the case. 

Ever since the letter was filed, Ripple has encountered a 3% dip in market value, trading at $0.51 at the moment.