Ripple’s Legal Victories and Implications
Ripple has been at the forefront of the cryptocurrency news cycle with developments that continue to captivate attention. The company has announced plans to submit a spot XRP ETF application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signaling a strategic move. Additionally, Ripple has created excitement by advertising for a high-level executive role in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector, prompting discussions about the potential place of cryptocurrencies in the financial world.
In July 2023, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan made a landmark decision, ruling that XRP tokens are not securities, marking a historic victory for Ripple. This decision specifically covered individual sales of XRP tokens. However, a final verdict on the institutional sales of XRP tokens remains pending. Another triumph for Ripple was the withdrawal of the SEC from a lawsuit filled with allegations against Ripple executives, including CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
Is Ripple Preparing for an ETF Launch?
As the dust settled on these legal battles, it became apparent that the SEC might face more headaches following the aftermath of the last Bitcoin ETF. The SEC’s withdrawal from the lawsuit could be seen as an acknowledgment that XRP sales are not investment contracts, potentially setting a precedent for a future XRP ETF application.
Recently, the SEC made a new move by requesting Ripple’s audited financial statements for 2022-2023 and detailed information about XRP. Ripple opposed this request in a statement dated January 19. Meanwhile, Ripple has sparked interest with a job posting for a Senior Manager, Business Development (Institutional DeFi), based in London, indicating preparations for ETF initiatives involving cryptocurrencies.
Despite these developments, XRP has experienced a downturn. At the time of writing, the 24-hour price of XRP had fallen by 0.47%, reaching $0.5298, moving away from the critical $0.6 level.