District Court Judge Analisa Torres has denied the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) motion to appeal a recent ruling in favor of Ripple. Judge Torres ruled that the SEC is not eligible to request an appeal until after a trial on the remaining issues in the case.
The trial is scheduled for April 2024. XRP surged 5% shortly after the news.
Appeal Denied
The federal judge also rejected the SEC’s citation from the LUNA case, finding that there was no connection between the XRP and LUNA cases. Court rulings can vary depending on the specific facts of each case.
“The SEC’s motion for certification of interlocutory appeal is denied, and the SEC’s request for a stay is denied as moot,” according to the court order.
Judge Torres ruled in July that Ripple Labs Inc. did not violate federal securities law by selling its XRP token to the general public. However, the sale of XRP to institutional investors in the past violated securities laws. This ruling was a partial victory for Ripple as XRP is considered as non-security.
But the SEC did not give up easily. In August, the SEC filed an “interlocutory appeal” for the verdict in the XRP case. The SEC argued that the court’s ruling was wrong and should be overturned.
While the court ruling on Tuesday was a setback for the SEC, it was not an outright loss. However, it could be a discouraging factor for SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who is already under pressure from the crypto community.
During the course of 2023, Gensler has filed multiple lawsuits against different entities within the crypto industry, rather than bringing more clarity to the sector. Apart from the XRP case, the SEC recently lost to Grayscale.
On August 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had not provided a sufficient explanation for its rejection of Grayscale’s application to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
As a result, Grayscale scored a win and the SEC was ordered to review the filing.
Good news continues to knock on Ripple Labs’ door. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license to Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd., the company’s Singaporean subsidiary. This approval allows Ripple to legally offer crypto services in Singapore in accordance with the country’s laws.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised Singapore for its approach to regulating fintech and digital assets. He said that the country has created an environment that encourages innovation while also protecting consumers and promoting responsible growth in the sector.
XRP Price Surges Amid Market’s Reverse
XRP surged 5% after the news of the court ruling surfaced, and it is now trading at around $0.53. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen 0.57% to $27,400, Ethereum (ETH) has dropped 1.24% to $1,640, and other altcoins have also seen price plunges, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The likelihood of an interest rate hike continues to weigh on the economic outlook and could be a major factor in the reversal of the recent market rally. On Monday, Bitcoin surprisingly jumped above $28,200, and other coins also rallied. However, the uptrend was short-lived.
Recently, Federal Reserve Board member Michelle Bowman stated that tightening monetary policy is still necessary to combat inflation. She also expressed her expectation of another interest rate hike to bring the inflation rate down to the target level of 2%.
The final FOMC meetings are set to take place in November and December. Observers believe that the Fed will lift the rate at least once by the end of 2023. This may impact crypto prices, but it also may push investors out of fiat currency.
