Legal experts in the crypto space are eagerly watching Ripple versus SEC case as they anticipate its potential ripple effects.
A high-stakes courtroom battle, SEC v Ripple, may have significant implications for the legal cases against Coinbase and Binance, says legal experts.
On June 8th, crypto lawyer James Murphy, better known as "MetaLawMan", used Twitter to comment on how Ripple's case can impact the legal battle between SEC and crypto exchange giants.
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However, he tempered the excitement by reminding that the verdict in the Ripple case wouldn't necessarily set a "binding precedent" for these subsequent lawsuits.
The lack of direct precedent means that the judges presiding over Coinbase and Binance cases aren't obliged to rule in the same way. Only the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court's decisions hold such sway.
Murphy anticipates that Judge Reardon, overseeing the Coinbase lawsuit, will scrutinize the classification of XRP as a security. He suggests Reardon might employ similar logic when assessing the 13 tokens named in the Coinbase complaint.
John Deaton, a lawyer favoring XRP, his belief that the SEC intentionally initiated these new lawsuits before Judge Torres' decision on the Ripple case. Deaton anticipates this decision is imminent and feels the SEC might be preparing for a potentially negative outcome, stating:
I believe the SEC wanted to get those cases filed before that decision just in case it is a bad result for the SEC, possibly causing it to lose some political and legal momentum.
Another lawyer, Bill Morgan, a consultant at Morgan Mac Lawyers and a vocal XRP advocate, echoed the sentiment that the Ripple lawsuit could influence the Binance and Coinbase cases. He elaborated that the Ripple case's outcome could be strategically used by either the crypto industry or the SEC, depending on the verdict.
If they lose badly in the Ripple case, they go forwards with Coinbase and Binance with a substantial judgment against them. Obviously Coinbase and Binance will use that to their advantage that the sales of XRP is not an investment contract.
Ripple's legal dispute with the SEC, stemming from accusations of selling unregistered securities via XRP since 2013, has been ongoing since December 2020. On June 6th, similar allegations hit crypto exchange Coinbase, followed by Binance a day later.
