The shifting Securities and Exchange Commission tides had a volatile effect on the crypto market. While the broader crypto market is still slow to catch up on the SEC’s softer approach XRP is on a roll. The price of XRP was up by 10% as of Wednesday. Ripple was on a pause mode for the past few years owing to the legal battle with SEC.
Now that the SEC has ended the longstanding lawsuit against Ripple, XRP is flying of the bat. The crypto market is seeing this as a newfound opportunity.
Ripple XRP SEC lawsuit
CEO of Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse, said that the case against his company “has ended.” He added, “Today is a victory — and a long overdue surrender by the SEC”.
In his video statement on X, Garlinghouse called the case again him “lawfare” and praised the change in government.
“Thankfully, we have new leadership in the executive and legislative branches of our government,” he said. “That leadership is actively seeking a rational and constructive way forward on crypto. Let’s make the most of this.”
The end of lawsuit though was not confirmed by SEC. Ripple will no longer face the charges by SEC and saved from a $125 million fine.
Start of SEC lawsuit-2020
The lawsuit by SEC against Ripple started in December 2020; it’s been almost 4 years. SEC sued Ripple and two executives for violating securities laws. It seemed that they raised around $1.4 billion through the sale of XRP crypto tokens.
Small victory in 2023 for XRP
In 2023, Ripple had a landmark win when a federal judge ruled that the publicly sold tokens did not constitute a security. The judge still fined Ripple $125 million as legally it has to sell the token to institutional investors. SEC filed an appeal against the ruling.
Ripple’s appeal of the $125 million fine was still pending as of Wednesday.
Ripple’s XRP price
Moment Garlinghouse’s announcement that SEC is dropping the lawsuit, the price of XRP rose exponentially. It surged more than 10% on Wednesday. XRP price was last higher at $2.49.
XRP was the biggest gainer of the postelection trade. Ripple’s XRP price is up more than 385% since then and up 18% this year.
SEC on a damage control mode
SEC is working in speed to reverse the damage to the crypto market. SEC has also ended its lawsuit against Coinbase; stopped investigating into Robinhood’s crypto unit, Uniswap, Gemini and Consensys with no enforcement action. It has also scaled back its crypto enforcement unit.
The new SEC crypto task force is going to focus on defining the security status of digital assets. Under the leadership of its new acting director, Mark Uyeda, the SEC is prioritizing regulatory clarity over enforcement, which is a positive trend.
The near future seems brighter for cryptocurrency market with it becoming increasingly integrated into the mainstream.
Why is XRP’s price rising?
- XRP has a sustained price appreciation with a strong market cap of $141B.
- XRP’s focus is on real-world utility.
- Speed and low-cost. The international wire cost around $75 depending on the bank and can take anywhere from 1-to-5 days to settle.
- Strong brand value. The newer blockchain networks do boost speed and capacity, but Ripple’s XRP longevity may give it more trust and brand recognition in this competitive industry.
- XRP has simplified the transfer process by creating a partnership with many banks across globe, a standout quality in the crypto world.
XRP price prediction
XRP has been on a rollercoaster ride. There are many analysts think it could reach new heights. There is a lot of buzz around XRP’s potential price movements. There are many who have predicted that XRP price could hit around $15 in the future.
