Top Analyst Says SEC Cases Against Ripple Execs “Are As Good As Lost”

Mr. Huber believes the SEC will lose its case against Ripple execs- Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.  

As the crypto community continues to anticipate the summary judgment for the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit, top XRP community member and analyst Mr. Huber (@leerzeit) has taken to Twitter to predict the judge’s ruling. 

In a recent tweet, Mr. Huber speculated that the SEC would lose its case against Ripple’s executives- Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. 

The famous XRP analyst expressed confidence in his prediction by saying that former SEC director Marc Fagel will not disagree with his views. 

“The cases against Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen are as good as lost for the SEC. Even @Marc_Fagel is unlikely to disagree with that,” said Mr. Huber. 

According to Mr. Huber, the SEC will lose its case against Ripple’s executives because the regulatory agency has not been able to prove bad faith. 

The cases against Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen are as good as lost for the SEC. Even @Marc_Fagel is unlikely to disagree with that. The SEC was not be able to prove “bad faith”. Ripple will likely pay fines for some securities offerings before ODL-sales and, in the worst… https://t.co/QPenSJCpyW

— Mr. Huber🔥🦅🔥 (@Leerzeit) June 26, 2023

For context, in December 2020, the SEC charged Garlinghouse and Larsen, alongside Ripple, with violating federal securities laws by selling XRP without first registering the digital asset. 

The SEC alleged that both Garlinghouse and Larsen were reckless in distributing XRP. 

Alderoty and Deaton Share the Same Sentiment 

Interestingly, Mr. Huber is not the only XRP enthusiast who thinks the SEC will lose its case against Ripple execs. As reported earlier, pro-XRP attorney John Deaton also believes the judge will not rule that the execs were reckless in distributing XRP. 

Per Deaton, two different XRP Howey analyses conducted by SEC Enforcement lawyers and a third party in 2018 showed that the crypto asset did not satisfy all prongs of the test. 

“If the SEC itself was struggling in 2018 to determine whether XRP was being offered/sold as a security, could these two executives still be reckless in 2013?” said Deaton. 

Furthermore, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty also believes SEC’s case against Garlinghouse and Larsen will end in futility. 

According to Alderoty, the Securities and Exchange Commission made outrageous allegations against the execs. He noted that before the SEC can establish the “recklessness” claim, it needs to prove that Garlinghouse and Larsen knew the law and disregarded it. 

Huber Makes Other Predictions 

Meanwhile, Mr. Huber also made other predictions for the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit. Mr. Huber stressed that Ripple would likely pay fines for some securities offerings before its ODL-related XRP sales. 

He added that Ripple might be mandated to register all future XRP sales. However, Huber pointed out that it will be hard for Ripple to register future XRP sales because of the difficulty distinguishing between utility and investment liquidity. 

Furthermore, Mr. Huber said Judge Analisa Torres, when commenting on XRP secondary market sales, would rule that the transactions are not securities. 

Notably, he said the judge would order that each transaction must be considered individually.