US SEC will proceed with the appeal of the Ripple lawsuit

The US Securities and Exchange Commission will proceed with its opening brief for the appeal of the court ruling in its case against Ripple Labs over the classification of XRP. Ripple Labs Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty disclosed this on X, noting that the agency refused its request to postpone the filing.

Alderoty expressed his disappointment with the SEC decision in a post on X, noting that it wastes time and taxpayers’ money. The SEC opening brief in the appeal is due on January 15, but many expected that the regulator could push for a postponement given the upcoming leadership change with Gary Gensler stepping down on January 20.

Alderoty said:

“We asked the SEC to agree to postpone the filing of their opening brief in their appeal of our victory (current deadline January 15) – and they refused. What a waste of time and taxpayer dollars!”

However, the legal counsel added that the San Francisco-based company remains confident about its position and believes it will still get a favorable judgment on appeal. He also expects that the incoming SEC administration, with Paul Atkins at the helm, will be more receptive to dialogue and resolve the matter.

SEC filing opening brief does not prevent settlement

Meanwhile, the SEC’s decision to proceed with the filing has drawn multiple criticisms from the crypto community. Many questioned why the regulator would continue with the appeal when it is likely that the next leadership might not proceed with the case.

However, the decision is unsurprising for legal experts who predicted this would happen. Crypto attorney Jeremy Hogan predicted that the SEC would not miss the filing deadline because it is compulsory for the regulator.

For the Gensler-led SEC, the court decision that programmatic sales of XRP and distribution of XRP for non-cash considerations do not constitute securities is a legal position it must challenge. Failure to file the opening brief would have led to the dismissal of the appeal.

Nevertheless, Hogan believes this does not stop a new SEC Chair from settling the case.

He said:

“The SEC will file its brief on January 15 because it has to, but that doesn’t mean the incoming heads of the SEC won’t settle the case.  It changes nothing.”

Still, the filing means that the SEC lawsuit, which started in late 2020, will continue into its fifth year. Although District Court Judge Analisa Torres has also ruled on the case and even ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in a civil penalty for its institutional sale of XRP, the SEC’s decision to appeal means the case remains unresolved.

All eyes are now on the next SEC chairman, Paul Atkins, and whether he will bring a resolution to the case. Atkins is believed to be pro-crypto, and many believe the SEC, under him and with a Donald Trump presidency, will be more receptive to the crypto sector.

XRP is up almost 10% in 24 hours

Despite the SEC proceeding with its lawsuit against Ripple, the XRP token soared almost 10% today to hit $2.686. The positive performance resulted from a general turnaround in the market that saw BTC gain 5% and return to $96,000.

The reversal in losses for the whole market is likely due to several factors, including reports that Trump will no longer go all in with trade tariffs as planned. The news of a more pragmatic approach to trade tariffs has reduced concerns about potential inflation, reigniting interest in riskier assets, including cryptocurrencies.

However, this is unsurprising given how Bitcoin usually performs against market expectations. In the days before the turnaround, trending topics in the crypto community revolved around BTC’s drop below $90,000. This showed significant fear, a factor that Santiment analysts believe “would foreshadow a bounce.”

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