Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has made an explosive claim about the legal dispute between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in one of his infamous Ask Me Anything (AMA) videos.
Hoskinson commented on a possible settlement date for the case between Ripple and the SEC.
The Cardano leader has reportedly received information that a settlement between the two parties could be made public on Dec. 15.
However, the Cardano founder warned that the decision will have a “catastrophic” impact on the crypto industry in the now two-year-long legal battle if his information proves to be true.
I heard rumors that the Ripple case will be settled December 15, and that could have catastrophic implications for the industry one way or the other.
But you know, you just keep moving forward. Regardless of what happens, it’s a decentralized ecosystem that you guys control.
Speculations On The Outcome Of The Ripple Vs. SEC Lawsuit
Hoskinson’s comments come after both Ripple and the SEC filed their motions for summary judgment on Dec. 2. These were the last submissions Judge Torres will receive on the ruling of her case.
Now it’s a matter of waiting. Meanwhile, there is vehement speculation in the community about what the outcome of the case might be.
Jeremy Hogan, an American lawyer who has been following the Ripple case as a commentator for the XRP community since the beginning, sees mixed chances.
Hogan pointed out in his latest analysis that Ripple could win, lose, or there could be a draw. However, the most likely scenario according to the attorney is that the blockchain firm wins.
But this is contingent on the SEC not being able to prove the blockchain company has legal obligations to buyers of XRP.
That said, Hogan also sees a 30% chance that Ripple will lose the case. This could happen if the SEC manages to convincingly present to Judge Torres that Ripple used the sales of XRP to build its cross-border payments business.
More Probabilities
Hogan assigns a 19.1% chance to a draw. This could look like Judge Torres deeming early sales of XRP as securities. After a certain day, however, XRP is losing its status and will be classified as a non-securities sale, just like all future XRP transactions.
A final scenario, according to Hogan, could be a completely unexpected ruling, which “sometimes” happens in litigation. In summary, Hogan said:
In conclusion, the legal brief’s official lawsuit prediction is a 50.12% chance of Ripple winning a 29.88% chance the SEC wins.
Gene Hoffman, chief operating officer of blockchain company Chia Network, recently expressed a completely contrarian view. Hoffman predicts that the judge will rule in favor of the SEC, as the regulator has not lost a section 5 case in decades.
Moreover, the COO pointed to the LBRY case, in which the SEC walked away victorious just a few months ago.
Also, the Hinman speech is “completely irrelevant”, as other XRP “bag” holders claim, because Hinman told Ripple leadership that he believes XRP will be a security in 2019.
At press time, the XRP price was at $0.3774, breaking south of an uptrend line in the 4-hour chart.
XRP price breaking downwards, 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView
Xu Lin
