The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly refused to postpone submitting its opening brief in the Ripple lawsuit, which is due on January 15. Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Stuart Alderoty, disclosed this in a recent comment.
The appeal, which would challenge XRP sales classification, is already one of the most anticipated events in the crypto industry this year. Industry members have criticized the SEC for its intention to continue with the case even though the agency will undergo leadership change in the next few days.
The current Chairman, Gary Gensler, would be replaced by a crypto-friendly figure, Paul Atkins, who is expected to reduce the regulatory chokehold on the industry and pivot to a more friendly environment.
Read Also: Ripple Lawsuit Update: SEC Yet to Submit Opening Brief as Deadline Looms
Alderoty Criticize the SEC for Continuing Appeal
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Alderoty expressed his disappointment with the SEC’s refusal to pause its appeal, especially since a new leadership is set to take over.
“We asked the SEC to agree to postpone the filing of their opening brief in their appeal of our victory (current deadline Jan 15) – and they refused,” he revealed
He emphasized that the SEC is “wasting taxpayers’ dollars” with its stubborn approach toward the lawsuit. While pundits and other crypto community members also speculated that the SEC would withdraw the case, the watchdog has now expressed its intention to beat the deadline and file its opening brief.
Moreover, Alderoty expressed Ripple’s confidence in its appeal, hoping that it would get a judgment that would cement its stance in the case. Meanwhile, he added that the company looks forward to working hand-in-hand with the incoming SEC administration, led by Atkins to resolve the case.
Ripple CEO Blasts Gensler
Meanwhile, Ripple CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, joined in the conversation on X, pointing to Genslers’ commitment to his agenda of regulating the crypto industry by force. Garlinghouse noted that Gensler was completely dismissive of the December 2024 election and that he is following it through to “the bitter end.”
His comment elicited a wave of reaction from the crypto community, particularly the XRP army, who have been patiently waiting for January 20, the day Gensler would step down. The SEC’s decision to continue with the appeal is not surprising as industry experts had predicted the scenario.
Precisely, Pro-XRP attorney Jeremy Hogan, hinted that the agency is likely to continue with the process, but, it will have little or no effect whether the case is dismissed or settled in the future. He noted that the filing is merely procedural and has to be done under Gensler’s leadership.
This means that the lawsuit is now poised to proceed into its fifth year, and potentially extend beyond 2025. As the new SEC leadership is set to take over, the entire crypto industry is now closely watching to see how situations turn out as the outcome of the case could have significant implications in the broader crypto industry.
XRP Surge to $2.6 Amid Anticipation
XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, backed by Ripple, has experienced an impressive run over the last day. Fueled by increasing whale activity, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization surged by 4.71% at the time of writing to trade at $2.67.
XRP daily trading chart | Source: coinmarketcap
The XRP price defied all negative sentiment surrounding it because of the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit and surged to its current new year high. However, its one-day trading volume saw a sharp decline of 19% to $8.4 billion, maintaining a live market cap of $153.3 billion.
It is important to mention that the XRP surge is not isolated, the broader cryptocurrency market is enjoying a moment of green trading as the total market valuation spiked by 2.35% to $3.35 trillion as of press time. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency also saw an increase in its value, trading at $96k as of writing.
Read Also: Ripple’s Legal Battle and XRP’s Market Dynamics: Updates and Analysis
