TL;DR

Speculation is rising that the SECs upcoming closed meeting under new Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda might address the Ripple lawsuit, but experts warn against expecting major developments. Despite Genslers exit, the Ripple-SEC legal battle continues, with disputes over XRPs classification and an ongoing appeal delaying resolution.

Incoming Resolution or Just Another Speculation?

The lawsuit between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) remains ongoing despite numerous legal developments and changes in the agencys leadership. Recall that the regulators Chairman, Gary Gensler, officially stepped down on January 20 and was replaced by crypto proponent Mark Uyeda.

The Commission has scheduled its first closed meeting under the new Acting Chairman for January 23, causing the XRP Army to speculate that the case against Ripple might be on the agenda this time. Some of the most optimistic predictions include a dismissal of the lawsuit.

It is worth mentioning that the SEC conducts such meetings quite frequently, and there are no public records showing that it has touched upon the aforementioned legal tussle in any of them. 

Marc Fagel a former regional director of the SEC for the San Francisco office claimed that those expecting something monumental to happen at the upcoming gathering are about to be disappointed.

This is the same meeting they hold nearly every week. They will vote on recommendations calendared weeks ago, he assumed. 

Not so Fast

The anti-crypto Gensler might be out of the SEC, but the official resolution of the case against Ripple remains challenging. After all, the entities have been confronting each other in court for over four years, throwing punches at each other on every possible occasion.

The core issue in the lawsuit is whether XRP (Ripples native token) should be classified as a security. The SEC argues it was sold as an unregistered investment, while the company insists it is a digital asset used for payments and not subject to securities laws.

In 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP sales on public exchanges to retail investors did not constitute securities transactions. A year later, she ordered Ripple to pay a fine of $125 million for violating certain rules. 

The penalty represented just a fraction of the $2 billion the SEC initially asked for, and somewhat expected, the firm was ready to settle it. 

However, the watchdog appealed the 2023 verdict and recently filed the necessary opening brief, thus prolonging the lawsuit indefinitely.