XRP News Today: SEC v Ripple Drama Escalates with New Filing and Lawyer Resignations

The Monday Overview

XRP rallied 6.00% on Monday. Reversing a 0.81% loss from Sunday, XRP closed the session at $0.5563.

Ripple Court Filing Ramps Up Battle with the SEC

SEC vs. Ripple case-related updates warranted investor attention on Monday. Defense attorney James Filan shared the latest from the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple, saying,

“Ripple has filed a Motion to Strike new expert materials the SEC submitted in support of its Motion for Remedies and Entry of Final Judgment.”

According to the court filing, Ripple requested that the Court ignore new SEC submissions supporting its opening brief and request for final judgment.

Ripple lawyers argued,

“The parties engaged in more than three months of remedies discovery. During that time, Ripple served a supplemental expert report on disgorgement and the SEC deposed Ripple’s disgorgement expert. The SEC waited until the filing of its remedies motion to submit the Fox Declaration setting forth its remedies theories and calculations.”

Ripple went on to say,

“The Fox Declaration contains accounting analysis and substantive conclusions about remedies that the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure and this Court’s orders required the SEC to disclose during discovery. The SEC’s untimely submission is precisely the type of sandbagging that Rule 37 (c) (1) is designed to prevent.”

The Fox Declaration relates to SEC expert witness Andrea Fox, a declaration form, and two accompanying exhibits. Andrea Fox is an accountant in the SEC enforcement division.

Ripple argued that Andrea Fox gave expert testimony regarding Ripple’s accounts and appropriate penalties for XRP sales to institutional investors. The SEC should have disclosed the identity of the expert witness and her testimony during discovery.

Ripple also highlighted that the SEC stated Fox was a summary witness, not an expert witness. Summary witnesses do not offer new information.

The SEC opposed the motion. Moreover, the parties agreed for Ripple to propose the SEC have five business days to file an opposition brief to the Ripple motion. The proposal would give Ripple three business days to submit a reply brief.

The latest Court filing and SEC legal maneuvers could draw more scrutiny than usual.

SEC vs. Debt Box: Lawyers Resign

On Monday, news hit the wires of two SEC lawyers stepping down. The lawyers were involved in the SEC vs. Debt Box case.

In March, Judge Robert J. Shelby denied an SEC Motion to Dismiss the charges against Debt Box. In the court ruling, Judge Shelby highlighted the SEC’s abuse of the judicial process, concluding the SEC engaged in bad faith conduct.

The SEC filed the Motion to Dismiss in response to a court order in December, where Judge Shelby ordered the SEC to present arguments against the court sanctioning the SEC for making false and misleading representations in court.

The resignations coincided with the Ripple motion that called the SEC’s attempts to sandbag. Investors await a court response to the Ripple motion.

A court ruling in the SEC vs. Ripple case could impact the SEC plans to appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling. The SEC could face more intense scrutiny if Judge Sarah Netburn raises concerns about the SEC’s inclusion of expert testimony after discovery.

XRP Price Action

Daily Chart

XRP hovered below the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, affirming the bearish price signals.

An XRP break above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs and the $0.5739 resistance level would support a move toward the $0.6609 resistance level. Selling pressure could intensify at the $0.5739 resistance level. The 50-day and 200-day EMAs are confluent with the resistance level.

SEC vs. Ripple case-related news and SEC chatter need investor consideration.

Conversely, a drop below the $0.55 handle would bring the trend lines and $0.50 handle into play.

The 14-day RSI reading, 50.09, indicates an XRP move to the $0.6609 resistance before entering overbought territory.

4-Hourly Chart

On the 4-hourly, XRP held above the 50-day EMA while remaining below the 200-day EMA. The EMAs confirmed the bullish near-term but bearish longer-term price trends.

A break above the 200-day EMA would support an XRP move to the $0.5739 resistance level. A breakout from the $0.5739 resistance level would bring the $0.60 handle into play.

However, a drop below the $0.55 handle would bring the $0.5361 support level into play.

The 4-hourly RSI, with a reading of 72.76, shows XRP in overbought territory. Selling pressure could intensify at the 200-day EMA.