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Amid the upcoming SEC closed-door meeting, speculations of a potential settlement of the multi-year Ripple lawsuit have emerged.
This comes after the regulatory commission revealed a closed-door meeting scheduled for today, April 11, 2024, at 02:00 PM (ET). Although the agenda of the meeting remains undisclosed at press time, XRP community members speculate that the regulatory commission could discuss various matters, including the potential settlement of the Ripple lawsuit.
Prominent crypto enthusiast JackTheRippler first called the community’s attention to the development, stirring rumors about a potential settlement.
🚨BREAKING: The SEC "closed meeting" is coming closer.
🚨RUMORS: SETTLEMENT! #XRP pic.twitter.com/wVo9c6Ozug
— JackTheRippler ©️ (@RippleXrpie) April 11, 2024
Upcoming SEC Closed-Door Meeting
It is worth mentioning that there is no mention of Ripple nor XRP in the SEC’s official announcement. Hence, it remains unclear whether the SEC will comment on the Ripple lawsuit in the meeting.
Like other SEC closed-door meetings, the public cannot gain access to the event. The meeting is only open to top SEC officials, including commissioners and their secretaries, as well as other key staff members.
These SEC officials can attend the meeting virtually or at the commission’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. In November, the SEC had a similar meeting at its headquarters. However, the outcome of the meeting did not result in a settlement in the Ripple case.
Settlement Conference
As reported earlier, the SEC and Ripple had a settlement conference on March 29, 2024, at 03:10 PM (ET) before Magistrate Sarah Netburn. The settlement conference was part of a mandatory pre-hearing meeting ordered by the court last year.
At the time of writing, there is still no official update regarding the outcome of the conference. While Ripple says it is open to conditionally settle with the SEC, the regulatory agency has not indicated interest in a settlement.
Apparently, it is committed to getting a resolution through court verdicts. However, that decision has not completely favored the agency.
For instance, the commission lost the rulings regarding Ripple’s programmatic sales and other distributions of XRP. The court declared that both transactions do not constitute investment contracts, as alleged by the SEC.
Current Status of the SEC v. Ripple Case
Nonetheless, the court ruled that Ripple violated federal securities laws by offering and selling XRP to institutional clients. Consequently, the case is in the remedies phase, with the parties embroiled in litigation to determine the appropriate penalty for this violation.
The SEC filed its remedies-related brief last month, asking the court to impose a penalty of nearly $2B against Ripple. According to the remedies scheduling order, the blockchain company will file its opposition on April 22, 2024.
Afterward, the SEC will file its reply by May 6 before the court will issue a final judgment.