Ripple CEO Predicts When SEC Lawsuit Is Likely to End

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told an audience at the DC Fintech Week conference that the SEC’s case against his company would be resolved in the first half of 2023.

“So, I do think it will be fully briefed in front of the judge by mid-November. Federal judges work at their own pace…It’s very hard to predict,” he said.

Optimistically, the lawsuit will be resolved within the next three or four months, Garlinghouse says. However, he doesn’t rule out that it could take longer than that.  

Ripple could consider a settlement with the SEC

Garlinghouse also said that Ripple could consider a settlement with the SEC, but he has stressed that XRP has to be recognized as a non-security.         

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“The settlement opportunity has to start with the idea that XRP is now a security.”

However, since the SEC boss views the vast majority of crypto tokens as “securities,” it creates a “conundrum” for how to settle anything.           

The implications for the lawsuit

Garlinghouse recalled how many industry members had scoffed at Ripple’s warning about the significant implications of the lawsuit for the entire crypto sector. However, he claims that this is no longer the case. “Today, I think everyone acknowledges how important this is for the U.S. and the U.S. leadership around crypto. This is obviously…a bellwether case,” he added.

As reported by U.Today, both Ripple and the SEC filed motions for summary judgment in September in order not to go to trial. “We think that the law is very clear,” Garlinghouse said.

The Hinman speech

The Ripple CEO said that the court had ordered the SEC to turn over documents related to the infamous “Ethereum speech” of former top official William Hinman. He has stressed that the regulator has been told to hand them over on six different occasions. “What is this in these notes that they are so committed to not sharing with the world?” Garlinghouse asked.