- XRP surged to new highs after a U.S. court ruled that the asset is not a security.
- The token rose by nearly 70% in less than a day, with bulls hoping to break the $1 price point.
- Despite the victory, there are fears that the securities watchdog may file an appeal against the ruling.
Barely hours after its historic “victory”, XRP became the fourth-largest crypto asset with a market capitalization of over $40 billion, but there could be further trouble on the horizon.
XRP bulls are rubbing their hands in glee at the resurgence of the token after Ripple Labs scored a win against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On July 13, the court ruled in summary judgment that the sale of XRP on exchanges did not meet the criteria for classification as an investment contract.
The judgment was accompanied by a mass hysteria by the community that buoyed the asset to a 52-week high of $0.8875. The value spike translates to a near 70% spike for XRP as bulls anticipate the asset class reaching $10.
Regarding transaction volumes, XRP has been a beehive of activity, recording over $10 billion in volume, a staggering 70% increase in under 24 hours. A contributory factor for the soaring value is the relisting of XRP on a clutch of exchanges, including Coinbase.
While the community continues to savour its hard-fought win, pundits have warned that the SEC could be heading on appeal. However, optimists argue that the chances of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the decision remains slim, given the antecedent of the apex court.
“The odds are even if they (SEC) wins at the appellate level, they’ll lose at the Supreme Court,” said ex-SEC adviser Justin Slaughter. “The Supreme Court has been very hostile to a bunch of agencies recently, on a host of issues from the APA to how staffing at agencies works.”
The SEC dragged Ripple Labs to court in December 2022, alleging that the firm and its executives had engaged in the sale of unregistered securities. Rather than reach a settlement with the SEC, Ripple Labs opted to slug it out in court in a case that spanned nearly three years.
The decision puts a dent in the SEC’s cases against Coinbase and Binance, revolving around facilitating the sale of unregistered securities.
Coast is not yet clear for Ripple Labs
Although it was decided that XRP is not a security, the court ruled that the sale of the asset to institutional buyers violated U.S. capital market rules. It was discovered that the sale to institutional buyers may have netted Ripple Labs profits in excess of $600 million.
Ripple Labs faces another mountain to climb on the claims that its institutional sales amounted to an investment contract under the court’s litmus test.
“The most important part of the ruling is the Court found that your company broke the law and made illegal institutional sales,” said U.S.-based lawyer Joe Carlasare. “Your company made $700 million in unlawful profit. Good luck at the trial claiming ignorance of Howey.”
