In 2020, the American Securities and Exchange (SEC) commission continued Ripple, alleging that the company had violated securities laws when it sold its Xrp (XRP 1.62%)) cryptocurrency to investors. The case was partially resolved in August 2024, but it is not yet officially completed.
Ripple was not the only target in the dry. The regulator still has prosecution against a number of crypto companies, including two of the largest exchanges in the world, Binance And Jamming. However, a maritime change is underway now that Donald Trump is president because he has often pleaded for industry.
In fact, a federal court, responding to a binance and the dry request (led by the acting president appointed by Trump), has just approved a 60 -day break in the case, and there is speculation on The Ripple affair could be the next one. Here’s what it means for XRP.
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Why did Ripple face a meticulous dry exam?
Ripple has created a network of payments called Ripple Payments (formerly Ripplenet), which allows banks to adjust money directly with each other, even if they do not use the same infrastructure. This means that international payments can be set up instantly between a bank that uses the Swift network (for example) and a bank that does not. Without wave payments, this same transaction would take days.
XRP is designed to normalize these payments. For example, a Spanish bank could send XRP tokens to an American bank instead of euros, bypassing exchange costs and other costs. Then, the bank can convert XRP at a lower cost into the fiduciary currency of its choice.
XRP has a total offer of 100 billion tokens. To date, 57.7 billion are in circulation, and the remaining 42.3 billion are held by Ripple, which releases small amounts each month if necessary to meet demand. The SEC argues that XRP should be classified as financial security as an action or an obligation, which means that Ripple (like the issuer) should operate under a strict set of regulations.
Bitcoin did not face the same meticulous exam of the dry because it is completely decentralized. It has a full fixed supply, and there is no one, a company or a government capable of modifying it or emitting more parts. In other words, it does not respond to the definition of financial security.
The Dry Affair against Ripple was partially resolved in August, when a judge ruled that XRP could be a title only in certain circumstances, as when delivered to institutions. He could not Be a guarantee when used in transactions or negotiated on crypto exchanges. Ripple had to pay a fine of $ 125 million, but the SEC appealed the decision, which could in theory equalize the parties before the court for several years.
A new regulatory regime
Trump was a defender of the cryptography industry on the campaign track, throwing his support behind radical ideas such as the establishment of an American Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. He is also in favor of deregulation, not only for crypto but in general.
Shortly after the November 5 elections, Trump said he would name Paul Atkins as president of the dry. Atkins is currently CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm specializing in the regulation of financial services and compliance. He is also co -chair of the Token Alliance, a crypto defense organization, so he is a great supporter of industry.
Atkins has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, so he is not officially in work. However, Trump appointed Mark Uyeda to be an acting president in the interval. He is more aligned with the president’s vision than the previous president, Gary Gensler, who resigned in January.
Under the direction of Uyeda, the SEC recently trained a crypto working group to develop regulations and examine existing legal affairs, including perhaps that against Ripple.
A potential victory for Ripple and XRP, but there is a warning
In theory, the resolution of his case with the dry would give Ripple an operational freedom. This could open the way to a greater XRP emission, which could lead to greater adoption, which is the key to creating a lasting value.
But there is a very great warning. Banks do not really need to use XRP to use the Ripple Payments network – they can use fiduciary currencies and still benefit from rapid network transfers. This could explain why XRP is still negotiated below its 2018 record, even if the cumulative number of transactions treated by RIPPLE continues to climb.
Consequently, the value of XRP could be determined by speculators more than by fundamental demand, which makes its future very difficult to predict. Remember that the token lost more than 90% of its value after having culminated at a price of $ 3.40 in 2018, and nothing prevents it from reproducing.
Consequently, while a more user -friendly regulatory environment is certainly good news for Ripple and XRP, there is no guarantee that it will translate into other gains for investors.
