The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opposed Ripple’s motion to strike expert witness Andrea Fox, arguing that it is lawful and does not constitute undisclosed expert testimony. The outcome of the legal battle between Ripple and the SEC is eagerly awaited by the market, with analysts predicting that XRP will see a short-term gain of around 20%.
This legal feud, one of the longest-running in the crypto industry, is nearing its end. It began when former SEC chair Jay Clayton sued Ripple for securities violations in December 2020. The latest development sees the SEC responding to Ripple’s motion to strike one of its expert witnesses.
In its filing at the Southern District of New York on Monday, the SEC defended the inclusion of Andrea Fox’s declaration as a summary witness. The regulator argued that Ripple’s claim that Fox’s declaration constitutes undisclosed expert testimony is incorrect. According to the SEC, the declaration is a standard summary evidence that supports calculations for disgorgement and does not rely on specialized experience or render any expert opinions.
The agency stated that Fox’s declaration applies basic arithmetic to Ripple’s financial records to present evidence to Judge Torres in a streamlined manner. The SEC further noted that Fox’s summary aligns with another SEC summary that Judge Torres reportedly allowed earlier and cited in her summary judgment.
Ripple has previously attempted to have the judge dismiss its expert witness, but the SEC claims that these attempts have been unsuccessful. In the case of Christopher Ferrante, an SEC staff accountant, Ripple argued that his summary witness declaration was improper expert testimony that was not properly disclosed, but Judge Torres ruled against the company.
As for XRP’s future, it is currently trading at $0.4993 and has experienced a 2.5% loss in the past day. The token has recently reversed a downward trend and is on an uptrend. However, it has decreased by more than 20% in the last month.
Analysts believe that for XRP to enter a bull rally, it must surpass its closest resistance at $0.53, which it has been trading below since last Wednesday. Prior to that, this level served as support for the token from mid-February through early April. The next key resistance levels are $0.55 and $0.64, which align with Fibonacci retracement levels.
CoinCodex predicts that XRP will surge by over 20% in May, reaching a high of $0.6716 within the next five days.