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Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton, who is also the founder of CryptoLaw media outlet, has taken to Twitter to comment on the current case of Grayscale against the SEC regarding the conversion of GBTC into a Bitcoin ETF.
However, he took this topic a little further and made a comment regarding the current lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple Labs, as to whether it should pass on to the U.S. Supreme Court as well.
Deaton is positive of Grayscale's possible win
Deaton commented on a tweet by Twitter user @AP_Abacusm, who wrote that there was a chance that the case of Grayscale could be moved to the U.S. Supreme Court. He added that "sharp legal sources are impressed with the Grayscale's brief in front of the DC Circuit and believe a win is possible."
The founder of CryptoLaw stated that he reckons a win is "more than possible." He considers the odds that Grayscale will win in the DC Circuit to be 50/50, and should the case move to the U.S. Supreme Court, the chances to win against the SEC are 75-80%.
Deaton believes that the denial of Grayscale's request to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF, while the regulator has already allowed Bitcoin futures and short ETFs, is "arbitrary and capricious."
"Zero doubt" about ruling in favor of Ripple
John Deaton then stated that if the SEC's stand against Ripple would go as far as taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, he is certain that the court decision would be made in favor of the blockchain giant: "I have zero doubt that the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in favor of Ripple if it goes that far."
Currently, the Ripple-SEC case is the responsibility of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.
And after the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia 🆚 EPA, I have zero doubt that the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in favor of @Ripple if it goes that far. The SEC did not limit its allegations to only apply to Ripple’s sales of #XRP. It went too far.
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) January 26, 2023
The lawyer mentioned the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of West Virginia v. EPA which was made in late June last year. (The EPA is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.)
In this case, which was about the power of the EPA to regulate carbon emissions to prevent climate change, the court's ruling drove the U.S. Congress to forbid the EPA to regulate emissions from plants. Details of the case can be found here.
Hence, there is a parallel to the SEC trying to regulate the crypto space, and winning the case against Ripple is the first step to gaining power over the nascent industry.