Ripple’s legal chief slams recent SEC filing as a ‘hypocritical pivot’

• SEC recently made a filing to reinforce its interlocutory appeal against Ripple.
• XRP price has seen little reaction since the filing and Ripple’s recent acquisition announcement.

The Chief Legal Officer of Ripple [XRP] has recently criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for their recent court filing. This filing by the SEC is an extension of the SEC’s response to Ripple’s recent partial legal win.

Realistic or not, here’s XRP’s market cap in BTC terms

Ripple legal chief puts the SEC on a blast

On 9 September, Stuart Alderoty, the Chief Legal Officer of Ripple, posted about a recent SEC filing. This filing from the SEC aimed to reinforce its interlocutory appeal.

In his post, Alderoty referred to this submission as a “hypocritical pivot,” highlighting what he perceived as inconsistencies, manipulative actions, and a desire for expanded regulation by SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

Another SEC filing, another hypocritical pivot…

After years of its chairman saying the “rules are clear and must be obeyed” the SEC now cries that an appeal is urgently needed to resolve these “knotty legal problems." https://t.co/ige4neIWRD

— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) September 8, 2023

Alderoty further pointed out that Gensler had requested an urgent appeal despite previously asserting that crypto regulations and rules were clear and should be followed by the industry. The SEC argued that complex legal issues, particularly concerning the court’s application of the Howey test, warranted a review.

Consequently, the SEC called upon the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to approve its motion for an interlocutory appeal and to suspend further proceedings until the resolution of that appeal.

Another acquisition for Ripple

The latest filing from the SEC coincided with a noteworthy development in Ripple’s activities. On 8 September, Ripple revealed its intention to acquire Fortress Trust, a Nevada-based company specializing in Web3-focused financial, regulatory, and technology infrastructure services. This acquisition builds upon its earlier investment in Fortress Trust during its seed round in August 2022, when it became a minority shareholder in the company.

If this acquisition plan proceeds as announced, it would mark Ripple’s second acquisition in the same year. Earlier in the year, Ripple acquired Metaco, a Swiss-based company.

XRP fails to react to recent developments

Despite recent developments, Ripple’s (XRP) price trend has remained relatively stagnant. A closer examination of the daily timeframe chart revealed that XRP has been experiencing minor declines over the past few days. As of this writing, it was trading at approximately $0.49, reflecting a nearly 1% decrease in price. 

Source: TradingView

How much are 1,10,100 XRPs worth today

On the chart, the long Moving Average (blue line) acted as the immediate resistance level, while the short Moving Average (yellow line) served as the long-term resistance level at around $0.59 and $0.60.

This lackluster price movement has kept XRP’s trend below 35 on its Relative Strength Index (RSI).