The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a motion in court on Monday opposing Ripple's request to quash the statement of SEC summary witness Adrea Fox. According to the SEC, Ripple falsely claims that this statement constitutes undisclosed expert testimony.
SEC challenges Ripple motion
On April 29, the SEC filed an objection to Ripple's “motion to strike” regarding the statement of SEC summary witness Andrea Fox. The Commission contends that Ripple falsely asserts that this statement constitutes undisclosed expert testimony.
Bill Morgan, a veteran crypto attorney, analyzed the SEC brief. He points out that the SEC refutes the allegation that the statement of Fox would be expert testimony, while noting that Ripple does not dispute the accuracy of the summary of its financial documents presented by the witness.
In addition, the SEC argues that Fox did not express an opinion on possible monetary damages suffered by certain institutional buyers. According to Morgan, the witness merely repeated the lawyer's instructions, the question of prejudice being a question of law.
SEC Argument Questioned
Regardless of the outcome of the motion, Morgan believes the SEC's monetary harm argument lacks strength. He compares the situation to customers complaining that they made profits with Ripple, but to a lesser extent than other investors.
The lawyer also draws a parallel with the Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX affair, accusing the SEC of having failed to protect investors in this case while claiming to defend them against missed gains in the Ripple case.
The SEC says its recent brief aims to enlighten the court by presenting calculations summarizing Ripple's financial records and highlighting prejudgment interest accrued on the company's allegedly illicit gains.
In short, this new legal episode illustrates the complexity of the Ripple-SEC dispute and the major issues it raises for the crypto ecosystem. Beyond the technical arguments, it highlights the challenges of regulating a growing industry. The outcome of this legal battle will be decisive for the future of Ripple but also for that of cryptos as a whole.
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