Ripple’s motion to strike expert witness Andrea Fox has been opposed by the SEC, 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 a potential 20% increase in XRP in the short term.
The legal dispute between Ripple and the SEC, which began when former chair Jay Clayton sued the company for securities violations in December 2020, is now nearing its conclusion. In response to Ripple’s motion to strike one of its expert witnesses, the SEC has filed a motion defending the inclusion of Andrea Fox’s declaration as its summary witness.
The SEC contends that Ripple’s claim that Fox’s declaration constitutes undisclosed expert testimony is incorrect. According to the regulator, the declaration is standard summary evidence that is permissible in support of disgorgement calculations. The SEC clarifies that Fox’s declaration is not an expert report, does not rely on specialized experience, and does not present any opinions. Instead, it applies basic arithmetic to Ripple’s financial records to simplify the presentation of evidence to Judge Torres.
The agency asserts that Fox’s summary is consistent with another SEC summary that Judge Torres allegedly allowed earlier and even cited in her summary judgment. Ripple has previously attempted to have the judge dismiss its expert witness, but the motion was unsuccessful. The company had argued that the summary witness declaration by Christopher Ferrante, an SEC staff accountant, was improper expert testimony that was not properly disclosed. Judge Torres ruled against Ripple in that instance.
As for XRP’s future, it is currently trading at $0.4993, with a 2.5% loss in the past day. However, it has shown an upward trend over the past four hours after reaching an intra-day low at $0.4917. In the last month, the token has decreased by over 20%. Analysts believe that for XRP to enter a bull rally, it must surpass its closest resistance at $0.53, which has acted as support in previous months. The next key resistance levels are $0.55 and $0.64, corresponding to 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.