XRP News Today: SEC Filing Fuels Speculation of a Settlement Offer

The Saturday Overview

On Saturday (June 15), XRP rallied 3.50%. Reversing a 0.71% loss from Friday (June 14), XRP closed the session at $0.4905. Significantly, Ripple revisited the $0.50 for the first time in five sessions.

SEC vs. Ripple: Crypto Market Reacts to SEC Court Filing

On Saturday, the SEC vs. Ripple case was a focal point. The crypto community reacted to the SEC court filing, responding to the Ripple Notice of Supplemental Authority.

Ripple filed the Notice of Supplemental Authority on Thursday (June 13), referencing the Terraform Labs settlement to demonstrate the excessive penalty demand from the SEC.

The SEC filed with the court a response, with a scathing attack, stating that Ripple continues to conduct similar activities to those that led to the 2020 SEC complaint. Moreover, the SEC presented arguments to justify its settlement with Terraform Labs.

Notably, the SEC also offered a calculation, assuming ratios from the Terraform Labs settlement, stating,

“Ripple avoids comparing the Terraform settlement’s penalty to the gross profit of the violative conduct. That ratio ($420 million/$3.587 billion) is significantly higher: 11.7%. Applying it to the $876.3 million in gross profits the SEC here asks the Court to disgorge the results in a much larger figure, a $102.6 million penalty, than the $10 million ceiling Ripple insists on.”

The SEC concluded that the Ripple proposal for a $10 million ceiling was too low, stating that the proposal,

“would not satisfy the purposes of the civil penalties statutes.”

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty reacted to the SEC filing on X (formerly Twitter), posting,

“The SEC is raging. Ripple defended itself – “agreeing to nothing.” The court gave clarity that XRP is not a security. There are no “victims” to compensate. And worst of all for the SEC, Ripple is thriving. But at least SEC seems to have abandoned its absurd demand for $2B.”

However, the SEC filing did not appear to be a settlement offer. The wording suggested that $102.6 million would be the minimum penalty when considering the ratios from the Terraform Labs settlement.

The determination of post-complaint conduct will likely determine the size of the penalty for Ripple breaching US securities laws.

Ripple could respond to the SEC filing, which may be the last before Judge Analisa Torres delivers her verdict.

However, the battle with the SEC may not end there. The SEC may appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling after the court delivers its verdict.

XRP Price Action

Daily Chart

XRP remained comfortably below the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, affirming the bearish price signals.

An XRP break above the trend lines would support a move to the 50-day EMA. A breakout from the 50-day EMA could give the bulls a run at the 200-day EMA.

SEC vs. crypto case-related news warrants investor attention as the debate continues over the recent court filings.

Conversely, an XRP drop below $0.48 could signal a fall to the $0.45 handle.

The 14-day RSI reading, 42.06, suggests an XRP fall to the $0.45 handle before entering oversold territory.