The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet indicated whether it plans to appeal the recent rulings in the SEC vs. Ripple case. Both Ripple and the SEC have a 60-day window from the final judgment to file any appeals.
Legal expert Jeremy Hogan recently addressed the potential ramifications of an appeal on social media. He said that if an appeal is pursued, the process could extend the discussion of the case by another 12 months. Specifically, Ripple and the SEC must submit their appeals by October 7, which is 60 days after the final judgment.
On The Good Morning Crypto Show, attorney Fred Rispoli elaborated on Hogan’s point, explaining that if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) files an appeal, the process would primarily involve long periods of waiting. Here’s how the timeline could unfold:
Filing the Notice of Appeal: The process begins when the SEC files a notice of appeal. After this, the Second Circuit Court will issue a briefing schedule, which typically starts within 30 to 60 days after the appeal notice. This would put the first set of briefs being due around November or December 2024.
Ripple’s Cross Appeal: If the SEC appeals, Ripple is likely to file a cross-appeal. This means Ripple will challenge the parts of the case it lost, making all the issues open for the appeals court to review.
Delays and Extensions: Both parties—Ripple and the SEC—have the right to push back the schedule by 30 days. As Fred explained, this is a common tactic to delay filing briefs. Based on his experience, this would likely push the briefing to early January 2025 at the earliest.
Further Extensions: Additional delays could occur due to events like the U.S. elections or other major legal factors. Ripple, for instance, could request an extension of 60 days to file its briefs. In this scenario, we wouldn’t see opposition briefs until February or March 2025.
Oral Arguments: Once both parties have filed their briefs, the court will schedule oral arguments, which could take another four to five months. This would likely happen around October or November 2025.
Final Resolution: A Long Wait
After the oral arguments, the Second Circuit Court could take anywhere from three months to a year to make a final decision. Fred estimates that the earliest we could expect a ruling is sometime in early 2026, potentially between January and April 2026.