SEC Wins a Small Victory in Its Case Against Ripple Lab

Key Insights:

• On Wednesday, Judge Sarah Netburn granted the SEC’s request to file a reply brief in its bid to shield Hinman’s speech documents
• Earlier in the week, Ripple Lab lawyers opposed an SEC request to file an additional brief to support its Hinman speech claims.
• Key technical indicators bearish. XRP sits below the 50-day EMA.

This year, a 2018 William Hinman speech and all documents relating to the speech have become the focal point of the SEC case against Ripple Lab.

The SEC has filed numerous motions to shield the 2018 Hinman speech documents on the grounds of attorney-client privilege.

In the famous speech, William Hinman, former SEC Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, said that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are not securities. The SEC is looking to shield documents and emails relating to internal discussions and Hinman’s famous speech.

Judge Grants SEC’s Motion to File a Reply Brief on Hinman Documents

On Wednesday, the SEC won another small victory in its case against Ripple Lab.

Defense lawyer James Filan shared news of the latest court ruling on Twitter.

Filan tweeted,

“In a Text Only Order, Magistrate Judge Netburn has granted the SEC’s request to file a reply brief in connection with attorney-client privilege claims regarding the Hinman speech documents. The SEC is due to reply on May 18, 2022.”

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP In a Text Only Order, Magistrate Judge Netburn has granted the SEC's request to file a reply brief in connection with the SEC's attorney-client privilege claims regarding the Hinman speech documents. The SEC's reply is due by May 18, 2022.

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪96k+ (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) May 4, 2022

While this may be a blow for the Ripple Lab defense team, a resolution should allow the case to progress more swiftly, though countermotions are likely from either side, depending upon the next court ruling.

The court ruling in favor of the SEC came despite strong opposition from Ripple Lab lawyer Solomon.

On Tuesday, Ripple Lawyer Matthew Solomon opposed at least the sixth SEC motion, “filing in opposition to Defendants’ August 10, 2021 motion to compel.”

In opposition, Solomon had stated,

“Since the Defendants filed this motion to compel nearly nine months ago, the Court has twice overruled the SEC’s improper deliberative process privilege objections. Notwithstanding that, and close of fact and expert discovery, the SEC continues to withhold all documents related to a former SEC official’s June 14, 2018 speech.”

XRP showed little reaction to this week’s motions and rulings.

XRP Price Action

At the time of writing, XRP was up 2.02% to $0.6103. The early gain partially reversed a 7.36% tumble from Thursday. Market jitters over inflation and Fed monetary policy weighed on XRP and the broader market.

Technical Indicators

XRP will need to move through the $0.6120 pivot to target the First Major Resistance Level at $0.6432. XRP would need broader crypto market support to return to $0.64.

In the event of an extended rally, XRP should test the Second Major Resistance Level at $0.6881 and resistance at $0.70. The Third Major Resistance Level sits at $0.7642.

Failure to move through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level at $0.5671 into play.

Barring an extended sell-off throughout the day, XRP should avoid sub-$0.56. The Second Major Support Level sits at $0.5360.

The EMAs and the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below) send a bearish signal. At the time of writing, XRP sits below the 50-day EMA, currently at $0.6284. This morning, the 50-day EMA pulled back from the 100-day EMA. The 100-day EMA also pulled back from the 200-day EMA, XRP negative.

A move through the 50-day EMA would support a return to $0.65.