Ripple’s main argument weakened by SEC’s recent court win, impact on XRP price

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has claimed that its recent win against Commonwealth Equity Services, a broker dealer, should be considered in its legal tussle against Ripple. Notably, the Ripple v SEC lawsuit could end with a summary judgment from Judge Analisa Torres soon.

Ripple’s fair notice argument is disputable, says SEC

In a supporting letter filed on April 11, the SEC noted that Ripple’s “fair notice” argument is disputable based on a recent court decision for the regulator. This comes as the SEC successfully put out a similar defense argument in its case against Commonwealth, which had been sued in 2019 on charges of conflict of interest violations.

Ripple’s fair notice defense builds upon a recent ruling by the Supreme Court in the case between Bittner and the United States. It happened that the US made a case against a Romanian immigrant named Alexandru Bittner, who had up to 272 bank accounts but broke the law upon failure to file a relevant report with regulators for each of these accounts.

As a result, the US authorities demanded that Bittner pays a $10,000 Bank Secrecy Act penalty for each of the accounts. However, the Supreme Court determined that he only needed to make a one-time payment of $10,000.

In a recent blog, law firm Faegre Drinker noted:

Bittner did not learn of this reporting obligation until returning to the United States many years later. After he returned, he filed the required reports, but not in time to avoid violations.

The Supreme Court’s decision to rule in favor of Bittner came as the fair notice had not been given, particularly to the point that it would demand individual fines for individual undisclosed bank accounts. In the same way, Ripple argues that fair notice had not been provided sufficiently.

SEC’s take on how the fair notice argument is moot

In the Tuesday filing (April 11), the SEC noted that considering other long-standing Supreme Court precedents, specifically the ones established in Upton versus the SEC to establish the Howey Test, Ripple had enough time to comply with the securities laws.

Ripple price lacks directional bias

Ripple price (XRP) still lacks directional bias as traders await Judge Torres’ summary judgment. The remittance token has been consolidating under the $0.52 level since the onset of the month, with the $0.48 support level preventing a downswing.

If buyer momentum increases, Ripple price could breach the immediate barricade at $0.59, clearing the path for a northbound move.

XRP/USDT 1-day chart

Conversely, if profit-taking commences, Ripple price could drop toward $0.48, a move that could set the tone for further losses.

Also Read: Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple: Crypto markets await BTC’s cue