The largest crypto exchange in the United States, Coinbase, has made a huge move by restarting trading of XRP in New York despite the longstanding legal tussle between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and blockchain startup Ripple.
XRP trading was reintroduced on Coinbase in July 2023 but remained unavailable in New York because of state restrictions.
XRP Makes A Return To Coinbase
New York users can now buy and sell XRP on the Coinbase platform. Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal announced Thursday that the exchange had re-enabled XRP trading in New York (NY).
“We heard you and put in the work in strong partnership with the state,” Grewal wrote on X. “And now the word can be put out — we are back up.”
Many centralized exchanges, including Coinbase, Bittrex, and Binance.US, halted XRP trading in 2021 after the SEC accused Ripple of selling $1.3 billion worth of unregistered securities. These exchanges switched course and relisted the controversial cryptocurrency after a judge ruled in July 2023 that the Ripple-promoted token is not a security when sold to customers on exchanges.
Coinbase had resumed XRP support in other U.S. states, but not New York, as it has typically been stricter on the crypto industry than other parts of the country. XRP also faced regulatory hurdles in other jurisdictions, such as Japan and Singapore.
In September 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) took XRP off its “Greenlist” of approved tokens. This suggested that licensed companies in New York could no longer provide custody of customers’ XRP assets without individual approval.
$1 XRP Price Breakout Nigh?
XRP could see a massive rally as Coinbase’s move may boost investors’ optimism and confidence in the crypto asset. As for the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, the courtroom scrabble has been tedious and lengthy. However, the case is now nearing its climax. Both the SEC and Ripple have filed their respective remedies briefs, and Judge Analisa Torres is expected to issue her final ruling soon — which will determine the potential monetary implications for Ripple.
XRP’s price currently hovers around $0.53, a nominal -0.3% change over the past 24 hours. The token is down a whopping 84.6% from its all-time high.
A positive ruling, in this case, could significantly impact the SEC’s strategic approach and pending appeal against the historic July ruling on XRP programmatic sales, which would be a boon for XRP and the broader cryptocurrency market.
Meanwhile, there is light at the end of the tunnel for XRP making a mind-blowing advance toward the elusive $3 mark thanks to its quest to revolutionize the $300 trillion cross-border payments arena.
