‘Bizzare Move’: Ripple CTO Speaks out on SEC Appeal Fail

David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, has weighed in on the ongoing hot debate surrounding the SEC’s appeal of its case against the San Francisco blockchain company. The debate arose after the financial watchdog reportedly missed the deadline to file an appeal, causing a huge controversy and leaving most XRP enthusiasts scratching their heads, trying to understand what happens next.

The fact that the SEC had until noon yesterday to file an appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals was confirmed by Schwartz, who noted that he is not exactly an expert on appellate procedure. At the same time, the company’s top executive agreed that the SEC had not deliberately missed the deadline, and that its experts knew the rules.

Schwartz says it is not impossible that the regulator deliberately missed a filing deadline to end its appeal. But, he says, “it seems like a really bizarre move.

I would think so. It’s not impossible that they deliberately blew a filing deadline to end their appeal, but that does seem like a really bizarre move.

— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) October 17, 2024

Meanwhile, thanks to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the actual deadline for the SEC’s appeal could be Oct. 18 – tomorrow.

Nobody seems to know

The revelation came after someone spotted a docketing notice filed in the Second Circuit, the SEC’s notice of appeal was filed on Oct. 2 but not docketed until Oct. 4, and the appeal form must be completed and returned within two weeks of that exact date.

Interestingly, Marc Fagel, who is a former SEC director in San Francisco, suggested that the regulator might indeed have messed up, as this notice refers to the acknowledgment, where the court can override the 14-day deadline, not Form C, which seems inflexible.

In any event, if they did screw up, it’s just that; this is not the SEC walking away from the appeal. And it’s not like we don’t know the basis for the appeal that will eventually be in the Form C.

— Marc Fagel (@Marc_Fagel) October 17, 2024

“So maybe the SEC did screw up, and wow, I’d love to be a witness to the internal discussion if they did… But nobody seems to know?” the veteran expert stated.

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