Ripple, SEC ordered to agree settlement conference dates

• US Judge Analisa Torres referred Ripple vs. SEC case to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.
• Last week’s ruling was that XRP was not a security.
• The Ripple vs. SEC case continues but Judge Netburn has suggested both Ripple and SEC can agree to possible settlement conference dates if they believe it to be “productive” at this stage.

The latest Ripple news is that US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn has ordered both Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to agree on possible dates for a settlement conference.

The order came not long after Judge Analisa Torres of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York referred the next phase of the Ripple vs. SEC court battle to Judge Netburn.

According to a court document filed on July 17, Judge Netburn, who will now preside over the General Pretrial, has recommended that the parties come to this agreement 6-8 weeks beforehand, referencing the court’s busy schedule.  As noted in the judge’s order, the parties should agree to three mutually convenient dates. 

Will SEC and Ripple want to settle?

The pretrial phase includes aspects of the case around “scheduling, discovery and non-dispositive pretrial motions.” It is also likely the stage where the parties would want to settle. While the anticipation is that the SEC might want Ripple to settle, the coming days could make it clear whether any of the two sides view this as a route to take.

Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett shared the outlook on Twitter:

🚨To be clear: Judge Netburn is suggesting that both sides agree on some possible dates for a settlement meeting, *IF* “they believe it to be productive at this time.”

This doesn’t mean we’ll see a settlement in 6-8 weeks. It means that if they do decide on a date, it will have… https://t.co/3bxqCGLyPr

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) July 17, 2023

Last week, Judge Torres effectively declared XRP not a security and sparked a massive rally for the token and the broader crypto market. 

Even though the outcome of the rest of the case is anybody’s guess, the crypto industry believes Ripple’s partial victory provided a watershed moment that could translate into the much needed regulatory clarity.