What happened in crypto this weekend?

The Ripple case is over, says pro-XRP lawyer

Pro-XRP lawyer Jeremy Hogan has tipped a slim 2.3% chance for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to win its case against Ripple after it signaled it would dismiss a lawsuit against two Ripple executives last week.

“For all Intents and Purposes, the Ripple v. SEC case is over,” the pro-XRP lawyer said in an Oct. 22 post.

“The SEC dismissed the rest of the case, so there will be no trial next year, Hogan said, adding that the facts have been set and that “nothing new or surprising” will be coming out.

Last week, lawyers representing the SEC said it planned to dismiss all claims against Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chair Chris Larsen, which was seen by Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty as a “surrender by the SEC.”

In the X thread, Hogan said he expects a final judgment to be delivered in 2024 but noted that a settlement or appeal from one or both parties is also possible.

Should the SEC appeal, the regulator would theoretically have a 14.2% chance of winning, said Hogan. However, SEC’s path to victory will be a long and strenuous one involving not settling, winning on appeal, getting through more hearings and then winning on a final appeal put forward by Ripple — if it ever gets to that point.

“Because of the way the Judge wrote her Order, the Appellate court would have to send the case back down to the trial Judge for FURTHER judicial findings and determinations!”

SO, that’s why I say that “for all Intents and Purposes” this case is over.

“The chance of the SEC winning is exactly 2.367%. Same odds as the Jets winning the Super Bowl!” he added.

SEC asks for default judgment against Coinbase inside trader

The SEC has filed a default judgment against one of the three individuals involved in Coinbase’s insider trading scandal.

The SEC said the defendant, Sameer Ramani, was served on May 26, 2023 and that Ramani hasn’t filed any pleadings or other defenses to the Complaint or Amended Complaint filed by the securities regulator.

“Accordingly, the SEC respectfully requests that the Clerk of Court enter default against Defendant Ramani,” the SEC said in an Oct. 19 filing.

The SEC noted that “Ramani is believed to currently be in India,” in its initial filing on July 21, 2022.

The securities regulator asserted in its initial complaint that Ishan Wahi, a former manager in Coinbase’s Assets and Investing Products group, repeatedly tipped material, non-public information about the timing and content of Coinbase’s “listing announcements” to his brother, Nikhil and Ramani (a close friend).

Nikhil and Ramani used this information to trade ahead of multiple listing announcements, earning at least $1.1 million in illicit profits, the SEC alleged.

The Wahi brothers reached a settlement with the SEC in late May after Ishan Wahi pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in February.

Magic Eden pauses BRC-20 trades as community raises alarm over double spending

Nonfungible token marketplace Magic Eden has suspended BRC-20 trading on Ordinals amid community concerns around the risks of double-spending.

“We’ve temporarily paused BRC-20 trading to best protect users until full ord consensus across all BRC-20,” Magic Eden on Bitcoin explained in an Oct. 22 post on X.

“All other trading remains live on Magic Eden,” the team added.

On Oct. 22, users began posting concerns about the risk of double-spending. The founder of Ordinal Fomojis, Sanj, said the issue is due to different marketplaces using different versions of Ordinals software:

Currently different marketplaces are using different versions of ord which are indexing different inscription numbers.

Ordinals platform UniSat Wallet also acknowledged the BRC-20 indexing dilemma but decided not to suspend BRC-20 trading.

“We are monitoring what contributors and indexers are doing and will keep our users informed,” UniSat Wallet said in an Oct. 22 post.

Other news

Crypto-friendly Republican Representative Tom Emmer is pursuing a nomination to become speaker of the United States House of Representatives, with the 62-year-old receiving endorsement from multiple lawmakers.

Cryptocurrency advocacy group the DeFi Education Fund filed an amicus brief to a United States court on Oct. 20, urging it consider the unique aspects of blockchain technology when evaluating the privacy rights of users under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It was filed as part of a broader fight to prevent the U.S. government from having unfettered access to a user’s transaction history on cryptocurrency platforms.