Ripple vs. SEC: Deaton Makes Strong Prediction About Judge Torres’ Ruling on XRP

Deaton is confident that Judge Torres will say XRP secondary market transactions are not securities.

Attorney John Deaton, the founder of CryptoLaw, has made new predictions about the ongoing lawsuit between Ripple and the United States Security and Exchange Commission. In a video posted yesterday by CryptoLaw, attorney Deaton said Judge Analisa Torres would rule that XRP secondary market sales are not securities. 

“I’m confident that the Judge will say: [XRP] secondary market sales are not in play, That secondary market sales are not securities, That the token itself is not a security,” said Deaton.

Judge Torres Will Comment on XRP Due to Growing Interests

Attorney Deaton expressed confidence about a favorable ruling for XRP due to the more than a dozen amici briefs filed supporting Ripple.

“I say that just because of amicus briefs from XRP holders, Coinbase amicus, Blockchain Association, Chamber of Digital Commerce, SpendTheBits, TapJets, I-Remit, and a slew of others.” 

Per Deaton, the ongoing lawsuit has attracted lots of attention from cryptocurrency enthusiasts to the extent that the Judge would “feel morally obligated to have to address those issues even though she technically doesn’t.” 

Deaton asserts that Judge Torres will not want to avoid giving a decision on XRP secondary market transactions because she is a “great Judge.”

“If she wanted to try to avoid them, I don’t think she will [because] I think we have a great Judge, and we’ll see.” 

SEC v. Ripple: How would Deaton decide the case? https://t.co/HUX0oVMDMX

— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) April 11, 2023

Deaton’s Fight for XRP Holders

Notably, Deaton’s priority in the case is to ensure the SEC fails in its quest to have XRP secondary market transactions classed as securities. For this reason, he represented thousands of XRP holders as a “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) in the case.

Deaton has commented extensively on the possibility of Judge Torres declaring XRP secondary market transactions as non-securities. On April 1, Deaton highlighted four possible rulings Judge Torres could grant in favor of XRP holders.

According to Deaton, Judge Torres could grant an outright win for Ripple against the SEC or rule that the company initially offered XRP as a security but that the token’s secondary market transactions don’t constitute a security.

Furthermore, the Judge could move the case to trial due to disputed facts but add that XRP is only a software code that cannot be tagged as a security. Lastly, the Judge could decide that XRP past and present secondary market sales are securities while excluding future XRP sales.

Deaton asserted that if Judge Torres issues summary judgment in SEC’s favor and does not comment on XRP, he will ask the Judge to provide clarity, the same way he did in the LBRY lawsuit.

Deaton Predicts A New End Date

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency enthusiasts are patiently waiting for the summary judgment. Many expectations were cut short after the Judge’s ruling failed to come before the end of last month, as seasoned lawyer James K. Filan predicted.   

Interestingly, attorney Deaton predicted a new possible end date for the case using Judge Torres’ ruling timeline in previous cases. The pundit said Judge Torres had historically issued a summary judgment up to two months after deciding a case’s Daubert motion. 

Since she ruled on Daubert’s motion on March 6 in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, Deaton expects Judge Torres’ summary judgment to come between March 6 and May 6.