This article briefly:

SEC experts acknowledge that XRP’s price is influenced by Bitcoin and Ethereum.

A pro-XRP lawyer said a judge could rule that all XRP sales since mid-2018 are not securities.

· Meanwhile, the case could drag on until 2026.

The case between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple has taken a new turn after financial regulatory experts said that XRP’s price is influenced by the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum 90% of the time.

Crypto attorney Bill Morgan shared a screenshot of the statement on Twitter, noting that it refutes the SEC’s claim that Ripple’s efforts are responsible for XRP’s performance.

According to him, the claim that Ripple controls the price of XRP is false because Bitcoin price movements usually influence the price movements of other cryptocurrencies.

He also noted that the SEC claimed in its summary judgment motion that Ripple took several steps to support the price of XRP. But that doesn’t prove the action was valid, as the regulator only wanted to show that XRP buyers and holders expected to profit from Ripple’s efforts.

Morgan added, however, that the SEC may correctly assert that investors relied on Ripple’s efforts, but that the efforts were not commercial efforts or XRP sales.

Rather, it was the company’s legal effort to defeat the SEC lawsuit. Morgan noted, “Not the kind of effort the court contemplated in Howey.”

Pro-XRP Lawyer Shares Opinion on Discovery

Pro-XRP lawyer Jeremy Hogan shared his opinion on this new fact. According to him, if she wants to "split the baby", the judge can rule that all XRP sales since mid-2018 are not securities.

This is because the SEC’s experts have already admitted it. This could mean that Ripple will just pay the fine it can afford and continue doing business, since it is clear that XRP is not a security.

He continued: “Maybe Coinbase will only sell Bitcoin and XRP next year.”

SEC and Ripple case could last until 2026

Meanwhile, the new disclosures add more drama to the SEC and Ripple case, which has been ongoing since late 2020.

Predictions that the judge would decide on the summary judgment motion by March 31 fell through, leading many to expect the case to drag on much longer.

Hogan believes the litigation could continue beyond 2026, depending on the judge's decision in the current case. He said that because the parties can appeal any decision reached, any appeal could lead to the case going to the Supreme Court.

XRP breaches $0.50

According to BeInCrypto data, XRP has surpassed $0.51 for the second time this week after rising 0.53% in the past 24 hours.

The digital asset is up 31% in the past 30 days, outperforming other top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Cardano, which are up around 20% each.

Meanwhile, XRP’s social dominance has dropped significantly from its highs of previous weeks, according to data from Lunar Crush.