In the latest development in the long-running XRP lawsuit, the US Court of Appeals has granted Ripple and the SEC’s joint motion to suspend their respective appeals. This will give both parties time to finalize the settlement in the long-running legal battle.
XRP Lawsuit: Court Grants Ripple & SEC’s Joint Motion
As revealed in a court document, the US Court of Appeals has granted Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) joint motion to hold the appeal in abeyance. The court has further directed the Commission to file a status report within 60 days of this order.
This court order consequently suspends the ongoing appeal and cross-appeal filed by the SEC and Ripple, respectively. As CoinGape reported, both parties had filed the joint motion to suspend the appeals in light of them reaching a settlement.
The SEC and Ripple argued that holding the appeal in abeyance will help conserve judicial and party resources while they both continue to pursue a negotiated resolution of this matter.
In March, Ripple agreed to drop its cross-appeal against the SEC following the latter’s decision to drop its appeal in the long-running XRP lawsuit. However, the matter is yet to be finalized as both parties revealed in the filing that they need additional time to obtain the Commission approval for their agreement-in-principle.
Once approved, both parties will still need to get an indicative ruling from the District Court. As part of the agreement, Ripple and the SEC had agreed that the former would only pay $50 million out of the $125 million penalty that Judge Analisa Torres awarded against the crypto firm. The Commission also agreed to request that Judge Torres lift the standard injunction that it imposed on Ripple.
Possible Reason For The Delay?
It remains unclear why the Commission has yet to approve the agreement in the XRP lawsuit. However, a possible reason could be that the SEC is holding out for Paul Atkins to assume office.
As CoinGape reported, the US Senate has confirmed Atkins as the next SEC Chair. The next step is for US President Donald Trump to sign off on the confirmation and swear him in as Gary Gensler’s successor.
Once the Commission approves the agreement, Ripple and the SEC will ask Judge Torres for relief from her earlier judgment. Once that happens, the Court of Appeals can strike out the appeal and remand the case to the District court for a full ruling on the agreement.
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