Blockchain-based payment protocol company Ripple notched a landmark win against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.
In a case that has been closely followed by attorneys and crypto industry players since late 2020, the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York ruled that Ripple did not violate federal securities laws by selling the XRP cryptocurrency on public exchanges.
Ripple’s court victory brought a modicum of regulatory clarity for the crypto industry, and America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it would re-enable XRP trading. At the same time, Gemini revealed that it is considering listing the token on its platform.
Coinbase CTO: “It’s Time To Relist” XRP
Ripple’s XRP is back on Coinbase.
Following the recent bullish ruling, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal announced that “it’s time to relist” the XRP token as the exchange feels comfortable allowing its trading.
In her decision, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s sale of XRP on exchanges and via algorithms did not constitute investment contracts. But $728 million worth of contracts to sell XRP to institutional investors did violate federal securities laws.
A slew of U.S.-based crypto exchanges suspended XRP trading in late 2020 when the SEC first sued Ripple. Coinbase noted Thursday that trading is “anticipated to begin later today” if liquidity conditions for the token are met. “Once sufficient supply of this asset is established trading on our XRP-USD, XRP-USDT and XRP-EUR trading pairs will launch in phases. Support for XRP may be restricted in some supported jurisdictions,” the exchange continued.
Coinbase itself is in the middle of an SEC lawsuit that alleges it was operating an unregistered securities exchange that was dealing with unregistered securities. Coinbase denied the allegations, and the case is starting to go through its pre-trial motions. Some legal commentators are optimistic that Ripple’s win will bolster Coinbase’s case against the SEC.
Gemini Weighs Listing XRP
Crypto exchange Gemini also said Thursday that it was mulling relisting XRP.
“Given today’s ruling that the sale of XRP on exchanges is not a security, @Gemini is exploring the listing of XRP for both spot and derivatives trading,” the exchange postulated in a tweet.
The series of bullish events saw the price of XRP go off like a rocket. It has soared by 67% since the judge’s ruling was announced. As of press time, it was changing hands at $0.78 and had become the fourth biggest crypto with a market capitalization of $41.2 billion after overtaking BNB Coin (BNB), according to CoinGecko.
More exchanges that had delisted XRP can be expected to follow in Coinbase’s suit and relist the asset.
