Ripple (XRP) stays in the spotlights. The long-lasting lawsuit with the SEC is coming to end and there are 16 XRP spot ETFs being filed.
The XRP price dropped from $2.26 to $1.92 today. However, it’s now back at $2.10. So, do these whales know something that we don’t know? Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on with Ripple and XRP.
The SEC lawsuit is the most pressing case. Former SEC chair Gary Gensler started the lawsuit on 22nd December 2020. The accusation was that by selling $XRP, Ripple sold an unregistered security.
However, in 2023, Ripple secured a partial victory. Judge Analisa Torres ruled, when sold on exchanges, it didn’t constitute security transactions. She presides over the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
However, there’s a new wind blowing at the SEC. President Trump appointed Paul Atkins as new chair. He’s still waiting for a Senate hearing. That’s because there are still nine cabinet members waiting for Senate approval. Currently, Mark Uyeda is acting chair.
With this new SEC leadership, the case is most likely coming to an end. Like many other lawsuits started by the SEC. The SEC paused many lawsuits. This can be because the SEC wants to wait for Paul Atkins to come into office. In the meantime, other workgroups are overhauling previous rules that started these cases.
However, Ripple asked for their case to continue by the 16th of April. That’s when they want to file their opening brief in this lawsuit. There’s apparently a $125 million offer on the table by Ripple to settle the case. On the other hand, the current government could also stop the case before this date.
One way or another, the outcome of this lawsuit is of importance. It could significantly impact U.S. crypto regulations. 1This could also have a massive effect on the $XRP price. Be prepared for volatility and a skyrocketing $XRP price. Maybe a new ATH is on the horizon?
Currently, there are no less than 16 $XRP spot ETF filings. This includes some big name firms, like, for example,
Source: X
So, this looks positive for $XRP. And the Bitcoin spot ETFs worked out fine. On the other hand, the $ETH spot ETFs didn’t work out as well as expected. So, this raises the question if there will be enough demand for an $XRP spot ETF.
A lot will have to do with the outcome of the above-mentioned SEC lawsuit. As I already mentioned, it looks like this will have a positive outcome. It’s great to have all kinds of different crypto spot ETFs. It’s a positive development for crypto in general. However, in reality, it looks like demand for these crypto ETFs will not be that strong. At least not yet if you aren’t Bitcoin.
Nonetheless, spot ETFs are good financial instruments to have at hand. For institutions and the less adventurous investors, they’re perfect investment vehicles. You can invest in a crypto asset without actually having to hold it. Let alone having to deal with the complex crypto environment at times. Especially for beginners. Like buying crypto at an exchange or having to own noncustodial wallets.
During the SEC lawsuit, it came to the attention that Ripple was behind a Bitcoin smear campaign. Ripple promoted the “Bitcoin is controlled by China” FUD. This traces back to internal emails from 2018. In those days, China did have the highest concentration of Bitcoin miners. Even Elon Musk chimed in on this tune in 2021.
Source: X
However, nowadays, most mining takes place in the US. Check this chart. Currently, China sits in second spot. Nonetheless, this is causing quite some backlash for Ripple. Not to mention that Ripple already tried to undermine a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. For this, it already received quite some flak.
However, this is not all. I already mentioned that the SEC lawsuit might see a $125 million settlement. This story has a new twist now. There are rumors that Ripple is offering 45% of its $XRP supply to the US government. This would be instead of the $125 million settlement. However, this would be an unprecedented move in how regulatory fines are handled.
Nonetheless, there’s also the 1869 Supreme Court case Willard v. Tayloe. This allows payments in commodities, if both parties agree to this. However, the US Treasury receives all these payments, and they usually only accept USD.
And of course, if Ripple pays in $XRP or the Feds accept their offer, then they will encourage the Government to keep it and get that spot in the Strategic Reserve that they have been lobbying so hard for…..
The Treasury already lost out on half a billion worth of USD by not allowing Ripple to escrow $XRP. This is due to $XRP’s price increase. The last words have not been said about all this. So, what do you think of the current Ripple situation? Let me know in the comments and join our discussions on Discord and X.
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers, and their risk tolerance may be different from yours.
We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments, so please do your due diligence.
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