Ripple’s CLO Refutes Settlement Speculations, Unveils Future Plans

In the ongoing SEC v. Ripple lawsuit, Stuart Alderoty has provided clarity that puts to rest the debate about a potential settlement in the legal battle.
Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO) has dismissed the growing rumors of a pre-trial conference in the SEC lawsuit, which many XRP community members believed could lead to a settlement and bring an end to the long-standing legal dispute.
Last year, a scheduling order mandated that the parties hold a final pre-trial conference on April 16 at 2 PM, overseen by Magistrate Sarah Netburn.
Alderoty has stated that the pre-trial conference will not take place as ordered, as the SEC has already dropped its charges against the individual defendants, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chairman Chris Larsen.
Moving forward, Alderoty outlined the next steps in the SEC lawsuit. Ripple will file its response to the SEC’s remedies-related brief, which sought a penalty of nearly $2 billion.
Ripple’s response to the proposed penalty will be filed by April 22, 2024, initially under seal, with a redacted version expected to be made public by April 24, 2024.
The SEC will then file its reply to Ripple’s opposition by May 6, 2024.
The debate surrounding a possible settlement in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit has been ongoing. This was fueled by a settlement conference held on March 29, the outcome of which remains unknown.
The rumors intensified after a closed-door SEC meeting on April 11. Additionally, a prominent XRP community member, Ashley Prosper, listed several reasons why the lawsuit is likely to be over, including the delayed release of 500 million XRP from escrow.
However, the unlocking of the 500 million XRP on April 1 and the remaining 500 million XRP on April 12 was not related to a planned sale by Ripple but rather a technical issue with the escrow address.
With Alderoty’s recent tweet dispelling settlement rumors, attention now turns to Ripple’s upcoming response to the SEC’s remedies brief on April 22.
Ripple is expected to utilize a Second Circuit ruling in the SEC v. Govil lawsuit to argue that disgorgement should only be paid by institutional clients who suffered financial losses from their XRP purchases.
If the court sides with Ripple, the company may only have to pay disgorgement to institutional clients who purchased XRP above its current price, resulting in a significantly lower penalty than the SEC’s demanded $2 billion.
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