XRP Lawyer Claims SEC is Expressing ‘Strange Animus’ to Ripple

The legal dispute between Ripple Labs and the U.S. SEC has intensified, with claims of unusual bias dominating recent discussions. Prominent XRP attorney Bill Morgan has criticized the SEC for exhibiting what he describes as a “strange animus” towards Ripple. 

Morgan argued that the penalties the regulator seeks are excessively severe compared to those in other cryptocurrency cases.

Ripple’s Legal Battle Intensifies

Ripple’s recent court filing, which references the TerraForm Labs case, highlights the inconsistencies mentioned in the latest argument. The filing drew attention to the penalties imposed in the Terra case, highlighting what it perceives as a stark inconsistency in the SEC’s approach.

TerraForm Labs’ case involved severe allegations against founder Do Kwon and his company. This group was accused of running one of the largest securities fraud schemes in U.S. history, causing $40 billion in investor losses.

In the TerraForm Labs lawsuit, the SEC demanded $4.47 billion in penalties, including $420 million in civil penalties and $3.58 billion in remedy. This total amounted to approximately 1.27% of TerraForm’s gross sales of $33 billion.

Morgan emphasized that the TerraForm Labs case involved significant fraud and investor losses, yet the penalties were within a lower range than the SEC generally seeks.

Ripple’s legal team also contends that the stark discrepancy between this case and Ripple’s points to a biased approach by the SEC. They noted that, unlike TerraForm Labs, Ripple faces no fraud charges, and institutional buyers did not incur losses.

Notwithstanding, the SEC’s demand in the Ripple lawsuit is an $876 million penalty. Morgan says this figure is roughly 20 times higher than the penalties typically imposed in other cryptocurrency-related cases. There, fines generally range between 0.6% and 1.8% of gross sales.

XRP Market Analysis Amid Ongoing Legal Issues

Meanwhile, as Ripple’s legal issues with the SEC continue, the price of XRP has taken a hit. According to CoinGecko, XRP is currently priced at $0.4789, marking a 2.04% decline over the past day and an 8.51% drop over the past week.

However, the trading volume for XRP is substantial, standing at over $947.3 million.

Technical analyst Dark Defender compared current market conditions to the volatility XRP experienced in 2017. He recalled the frustration of watching XRP’s price fluctuate for years, only to sell just before it surged to $3.82.

Dark Defender noted that XRP’s price movement patterns in 2024 are similar, evoking the same feelings of frustration and anticipation.

His weekly chart analysis shows that XRP maintains its position above a crucial support level. Vital technical indicators are nearing oversold territory, suggesting that the current downtrend might soon face resistance.

The analyst identified significant resistance levels at $0.6640 and $1. He believes that if XRP can break above these levels, it could help facilitate a smoother upward trajectory.