SEC does not object to Ripple’s request to seal the identity of third parties in the XRP case

As its lawsuit against Ripple drags on, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has decided not to object to Ripple Lab’s request to seal the identities of some non-parties and Ripple employees in the Daubert motions.

The SEC stated in a letter to Judge Analisa Torres on Friday that it does not object to Ripple’s application, which was submitted on August 19 and seeks to seal the identities of certain non-parties, some Ripple workers, and employees’ personal financial information.

While doing so, the SEC made it clear that it does not concede that the aforesaid categories of information should properly be sealed for summary judgment briefing, and reserves its right to resist comparable sealing petitions for summary judgment.

An attempt to exclude an expert witness’ testimony is known as a Daubert motion.

On Thursday, the judge agreed to the SEC’s request to submit a response to its move to exclude the testimony of Ripple Labs’ witnesses that may be up to 90 pages lengthy.

The SEC filed a complaint against Ripple in December 2020, claiming that the company sold over US$1.38 billion worth of XRP, the native coin of the XRP Ledger developed by Ripple Labs, in an unregistered securities offering. Additionally listed as co-defendants by the SEC for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple’s crimes were the CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen.

The SEC also filed a reply brief earlier this month in support of its objections to orders requesting the disclosure of drafts of a 2018 speech delivered by former SEC director William Hinman, which has been a major point of contention between the two as Ripple looks to strengthen its fair notice defence.

According to CoinMarketCap statistics, XRP was last seen trading at US$0.3236 at 12 p.m. Hong Kong time, down 3.3% from the previous day.