The SEC VS XRP lawsuit just keeps getting interesting with every passing day. In the latest turn of events, SEC has requested for an extension of time to file its Objection to Magistrate Judge Netburn’s Ruling on the motion for reconsideration of the DPP ruling.
“The documents show that the SEC ethics office cautioned former SEC official William Hinman that he had a direct financial interest in Simpson Thacher, yet Hinman continued to meet with the firm in spite of these warnings”
SEC caught with hand in cookie jar?
It was always Ripple's goal to drag this case out and make it so even if they lose it's going to cost the SEC a lot of manpower and money to continue on. It seems like this strategy is working, because every single update to the case is the SEC begging for more time or being offended that they're policy and employees are under a microscope. Certainly even if they win they may be a bit more discerning as to who they choose to target for attack.
Community
The XRP community has actually helped a lot during the course of this ongoing 14-month case. It's actually been crazy to watch these fanatics dig up dirt on the SEC and shine a light on the disgusting underbelly of this broken system. Say what you want about XRP or the founders of Ripple, but it's pretty obvious that the community support really is top notch, even if they are even more toxic and greedy than Bitcoin maximalists.
Going much better than expected
The founders of Ripple are very bullish on the outcome of this case, and I don't think they are blowing smoke or being overly optimistic. It really does seem like the SEC is somehow losing this one even though everyone knows that XRP is a centralized trashpile. They thought Ripple was an easy target and they'd get some easy money and they're getting way way more than they bargained for. No matter what happens, the SEC can't really come out on top when all these controversial emails and hypocrisy have come to light.
Double standard.
Even though XRP was 100% premined, the logic that the SEC is using to determine they are a security isn't consistent across the board. There are apparently many technicalities that somehow make XRP not a security, and the chance of them winning at this point seems surprisingly high.
Let's not forget, if they win, that's good for everyone... like amazingly good. Billions of sidelined USD will flood crypto and a massive bullrun will happen if XRP wins this case. Every coin will get pumped if and when the SEC loses a case against the lowest hanging fruit on the tree.
Institutional money would see that as the ultimate middle finger to the establishment. If Ripple can win this case, billionaires all of the world can dump funds into crypto knowing full well that money is safe from the regulators (for the time being). The FOMO this kind of cascading event could have is quite epic in nature, especially when paired with a summer bull run that was going to happen regardless of the outcome. A Ripple victory would just be icing on the cake and could even quite possibly provide a ton of exit liquidity if it came late in a summer bull run.
XRP gets more decentralized every year
Even though all the coins were premined, the SEC is not "protecting investors" by attacking the project half a decade after launch, that much is obvious. XRP investors are furious with the SEC, not happy like the SEC would like to imply. That's exactly why the XRP community has found so much dirt on the SEC and brought it to light.
Every year that goes by more of the premine gets spent or given away to big players in the space. Even though Ripple Labs used to control everything (just like Satoshi Nakamoto did) they don't control all the coins now. Not only that, they can't print more tokens like a central bank (or even a corporation that issues more stock). This is one of the many things that makes it not a security, as every stock is more centralized than XRP. Such is the nature of crypto. Even the centralized projects aren't always centralized enough to be classified as securities.
Conclusion
It's pretty crazy to think that XRP might provably not be a security in the court of law. No matter how this things plays out, the SEC can't come out on top, as too much damning information has come to light. Less and less people are going to be taking them seriously going forward (especially when they start getting sued for denying so many ETF proposals), and truly decentralized projects are just going to give them the middle finger and act as if they don't exist (because in the world of decentralization, they don't exist and have zero power).
Should Ripple win this lawsuit, it will be good for everyone, most of all XRP. There's a very good chance if they win they will once again ascend to the #2 spot on the market cap. That's the pinnacle of full greed and FOMO and we should be very worried about a market crash across the board if that happens, but by then who cares as we might all by ten times richer (or more). DCA for the win.