Hogan believes that both Ripple and the SEC could achieve a partial win.
Attorney Jeremy Hogan, a pro-XRP attorney and partner at Hogan & Hogan, has uncovered a theoretical scenario in which Judge Analisa Torres could rule in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit.
In a tweet yesterday, attorney Hogan explained what the judge might do if she decides to “split the baby” (an idiomatic term used to refer to a compromise decision that gives both parties a partial victory).
A mixed judgement
According to Hogan, the judge could rule that Ripple’s XRP sales since mid-2018 were not securities, as the SEC’s own expert conceded that Bitcoin and ETH price movements accounted for 90% of the asset gain over the period.
In this regard, a partial win will be in Ripple’s favor as the blockchain company will no longer be penalized for its XRP sales as of mid-2018. However, the judge could rule that Ripple’s transactions prior to 2018 were securities, with emphasis on the brochure the company sent to 100 potential customers in 2014.
Based on the move, it could be assumed that the defendants were “offering” the coin to investors. Hogan believes the judge could order Ripple to pay a fine in this scenario.
A mixed settlement like this would give the parties a 50/50 victory. Notably, the SEC records a partial victory if the judge rules that Ripple’s XRP sales prior to mid-2018 are securities. On the other hand, a partial win will be in Ripple’s favor if the judge agrees with the expert that Bitcoin and Ethereum price action impacted XRP’s gains from mid-2018.
Hogan explains what’s in it for XRP
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Hogan believes the decision would bring tremendous benefits to the sixth-largest cryptocurrency.
First, the decision could make XRP the only cryptocurrency with regulatory clarity in the United States.
With XRP gaining clarity from the ruling and the SEC accepting that Bitcoin is outside of their regulatory purview, Hogan speculated that both crypto assets could become the only supported assets on Coinbase by next year.
What would that mean? Ripple would pay a fine (which I calculated it could afford) and continue with its business, and now XRP is the only crypto with “clarity”.
Maybe by next year Coinbase will only sell Bitcoin and… XRP? 🤔
— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) April 7, 2023
Pro-XRP Advocate Backs SEC Claim, But…
Hogan made the comments in response to a recent Twitter thread by Australia-based lawyer Bill Morgan. As reported, Morgan proposed to the SEC for insisting that Ripple had taken multiple actions to influence the price of XRP, although his expert said otherwise.
Morgan claims that the SEC may be correct in claiming that investors are relying on Ripple’s efforts to influence XRP. However, these investors are not relying on the company’s business efforts, but relying on the company’s legal expertise to win the lawsuit against the SEC.
The cryptocurrency community awaits the Ripple vs. SEC summary ruling, with many expecting the ruling to come within the first half of 2023, as speculated by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
For CryptoLaw’s founding attorney, John Deaton, the verdict could come at any time as it becomes difficult to predict the exact date when the judge will rule. He added that the only people who would know the exact date of the verdict were Judge Torres’ staff and other court officials who helped her with her research.
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