U.S. SEC brings Ripple (XRP) transactions under scrutiny
The SEC requested further discovery in connection with XRP transactions, while Ripple keeps expanding their worldwide operations.
The legal case against Ripple Labs Inc. keeps developing as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a new request for additional discovery in connection with XRP transactions.
Last December, the SEC filed a complaint against Ripple, alleging that its sale of XRP was an unregistered security offering worth more than $1.38 billion.
New SEC requests
In the new request addressed to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn on May 25th, SEC´s attorney Jorge Tenreiro asked for permission to conduct six additional depositions, including former Ripple employees and Christian Gil, co-founder of a crypto trading firm and liquidity provider GSR.
The SEC´s attorney Jorge Tenreiro also requested Ripple to produce the documents of five additional custodians.
The watchdog further required Ripple to produce information on its XRP transactions, post-dating the filing of its original complaint made in December and relating to its lobbying efforts.
According to the new filing, the SEC anticipates seeking a short extension of the current July 2 deadline for fact discovery, given “the amount of other discovery still outstanding.”
Ups and downs
Despite the lawsuit Ripple keeps expanding its worldwide operations. Yesterday, Oman’s second-largest bank BankDhofar launches mobile banking payments from Oman to India with RippleNet, as per the company´s recent announcement on Twitter:
Our strong momentum in the Middle East continues with Oman’s second largest bank @BankDhofar joining #RippleNet to enhance the cross-border payments experience from Oman to India.
Read more about the new partnership: https://t.co/nkpNe8vyWh
— Ripple (@Ripple) May 26, 2021
But troubles remain. Several top exchanges, such as US-based Coinbase ceased trading of XRP after legal action against the company, even as the proceedings remain merely allegations for now.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit with the SEC is currently in the discovery stage, with both parties battling over the information. But could the legal battle slow down institutional use of Ripple?