In the ongoing legal tussle between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs, a document was filed yesterday. A mysterious non-party, referred to as the “Investment Banker Declarant,” has officially re-entered an appearance through counsel in the case overseen by Judge Analisa Torres.
The filing, dated August 15, 2023, in the United States District Court Southern District of New York reads, “PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT Andrew A. Kunsak of Sidley Austin LLP hereby respectfully enters an appearance for Investment Banker Declarant 1 in the above-captioned action. The Clerk of this Court is requested to note this appearance on the Court’s docket and to forward copies of all entries, orders, notices and other court documents in this proceeding to the undersigned counsel.”
Ripple Vs. SEC: Investment Banker Still Unknown
As a refresher, the anonymous banker had, earlier in the year, submitted a declaration in support of the SEC’s motion for summary judgment. Ripple Labs had then objected to this anonymous filing and ardently pushed for a disclosure of the declarant’s identity. Their argument revolved around the point that, “he made the declaration and entry into the case of his own free will.”
However, in defense, the unnamed banker stated that revealing his identity might subject him to unwarranted “harassment.” The SEC-backed this stance.
This continued anonymity has fueled intense speculation within the XRP community regarding the true identity of this declarant. As reported by Bitcoinist, a prominent hypothesis put forth by community member Mr. Huber and Attorney John Deaton, representing XRP holders in the litigation, leans towards Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital or Tetragon.
“Why Novogratz?” you might ask. Notably, Galaxy Digital owns a stake in Ripple, and intriguingly, dropped its XRP almost immediately after the SEC took action against Ripple.
It’s no secret that Mike Novogratz, who “cares deeply about his public perception,” once confidently predicted, “I would bet dollars to donuts that the SEC would declare Ether to not be a security.” His prior entanglements with Joe Lubin of ConsenSys, alongside past declarations, make this speculation compelling, according to Mr. Huber.
However, it’s crucial to mention Tetragon, another potential candidate. The investment management group had previously sued Ripple after the SEC lawsuit but faced a loss in court.
As Bitcoinist reported, the SEC has recently filed a motion for an interlocutory appeal against Judge Torres’s verdict, which argued that programmatic sales of XRP are not securities under the Howey Test. In response, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, commented, “The agency is only seeking the court’s permission to file an appeal and not seeking to appeal against the decision of XRP as a security.”
At press time, the XRP price traded at $0.6012 after finding support at the 100-day EMA yesterday.
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