Notion of Cryptocurrency, the term "cryptocurrency" has various variations. You've likely read about some of the most well-known cryptocurrency varieties, like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Alternatives to online payments like cryptocurrency are becoming more and more common. Before exchanging actual dollars, euros, pounds, or other conventional currencies into the symbol for the most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, you should comprehend what cryptocurrencies are, what the hazards associated with using cryptocurrencies are, and how to preserve your investment.
The alternative payment method known as cryptocurrency was developed utilizing encryption methods. Cryptocurrencies can act as a form of payment as well as a virtual accounting system due to the usage of encryption technology. A cryptocurrency wallet is necessary to use cryptocurrencies. These wallets might be computer software that is installed on your computer or mobile device, or they can be cloud-based services that you access from anywhere. The wallets serve as a container for the encryption keys that serve as a means of identification and connection to your coin.
The number of cryptocurrency types is around nine. In addition to stablecoins, DeFi tokens, NFTs, and asset-backed tokens, they also contain utility, exchange, payment, and security tokens. These classifications are based on a variety of factors, including how cryptocurrency was created or its source code, how it is used, and how it works.
Ripple (XRP)
Developed by US-based technology company Ripple Labs Inc., Ripple is a real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange, and remittance network. Ripple, a distributed open-source protocol that was introduced in 2012, offers tokens that represent fiat currency, cryptocurrencies, commodities, or other types of value like frequent flyer miles or cell minutes. With no chargebacks, Ripple promises to make it possible to conduct "secure, quick, and almost free worldwide financial transactions of any size." The ledger makes use of the local cryptocurrency XRP.
The U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and two of its executives in December 2020 for selling XRP coins, which it deemed to be unregistered securities.
Jed McCaleb came up with the idea for Ripple, which Arthur Britto and David Schwartz built. They then approached Ryan Fugger, a financial service that had made its debut in 2005 intending to give online community members safe payment options through a global network. OpenCoin, a platform that Fugger had created, would eventually become Ripple. To enable financial institutions to transfer money with minimal fees and wait times, the business has developed its cryptocurrency known as XRP. The business indicated interest from banks in implementing its payment method in 2013.
The main source of code for the consensus verification technology that powers Ripple has continued to come from Ripple Labs. Concerns over security and lack of regulation led to the protocol's entry into the US banking system in 2014.
The MIT Technology Review's February 2014 issue selected Ripple Labs as one of the 50 Smartest Companies of 2014 for its conception and development of the Ripple protocol (RTXP) and the Ripple payment/exchange network. Maintaining a Ripple server requires about the same amount of energy as running an email server, according to a scientific study by two experts from Stanford and Stockholm University who looked at money production from both an energy consumption and macroeconomic perspective.
The Ripple network for money transfers was created to meet the demands of the financial services sector. The native cryptocurrency of the Ripple network is called XRP, and it frequently ranks among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
The firm that created XRP is Ripple, which operates a global payment settlement system and currency exchange network. "Ripple was meant from the beginning to effectively be a replacement for SWIFT (a leading money transfer network) or to otherwise replace the settlement layer between large financial institutions," claims Pat White, CEO of Bitwave.
As the network can immediately verify that the exchange went through successfully, it acts as a trusted intermediary between two parties in a transaction. For several fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin as one example, Ripple can facilitate transactions. The network deducts a tiny sum of the cryptocurrency XRP as a charge from each transaction users make via the network.
A quick history of cryptocurrencies is given, along with an explanation of Ripple's functions (XRP). Next, we'll talk about the most recent currency news.
What Ripple's Latest Victory Means for Its Ongoing Battle With the SEC
As part of its ongoing legal defense against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued the cryptocurrency company and a few of its executives in 2020 for the unregistered sale of XRP worth $1.3 billion, Ripple notched another procedural victory last week.
William Hinman, the former director of the SEC Corporation Finance Division, made a statement in a speech on September 29 that ether (ETH) was not a security because it was "sufficiently decentralized," similar to bitcoin. On September 30, a U.S. District Court judge decided to release emails and other correspondence he had written about the statement.
In a dispute that has been ongoing for almost two years, Ripple's legal strategy is based in large part on these communications. Ripple is attempting to show, rather than reach a settlement with the organization, that the SEC's approach to crypto regulation is ambiguous, contradictory, and arbitrary. The case may establish a significant precedent for the cryptocurrency industry if it is successful.
Liz Boison of Hogan Lovells wrote in an opinion piece last week that "the final version of Hinman's speech discussed a concept that is central to the Ripple founders' defense theory - whether assets that function only as a means of exchange in a decentralized network are not a security, even if they could be packaged and sold as a security."
The SEC has repeatedly attempted to keep Ripple from seeing early drafts and other materials relating to Hinman's speech, which was given at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018 and is open to the public. The SEC's lack of transparency, in this case, is, at the very least, unsportsmanlike, and it would be preferable for the general investing public to have access to them.
It's not yet apparent whether any of this will significantly affect the case, even though the SEC will now be required to provide Hinman's paperwork. In actuality, the judge made the documents public for the same reason that they represent one employee's personal views and not those of the entire organization.
In December 2020, the SEC initiated legal action against Ripple, its current CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and its former CEO Chris Larsen, alleging that the company's "rolling" sales of XRP constituted an investment contract and securities offering. These revenues have been utilized by Ripple to pay for operations as well as, most likely, its pricey defense in court.
The action was initiated shortly before Chairman Gary Gensler assumed leadership of the SEC, indicating his more aggressive approach to controlling the cryptocurrency business. XRP, which was delisted from several crypto exchanges after the agency filed suit in 2020, rallied 9% on the recent news. Ripple claims that the SEC has unfairly targeted the payments-focused company and "picked two winners" in the digital asset industry - BTC and ETH.
The SEC maintained that Hinman's correspondence was exempt from discovery laws and was not relevant to the case. In addition, Kik, the messaging service that the SEC sued following its initial coin offering (ICO) and settled with, requested access to these records.
The SEC, according to critics, "regulates through enforcement" rather than articulating how cryptocurrencies and tokens should adhere to current securities laws. Who the SEC has sued, which coins it considers legal, and why only add to the complexity of the matter.
There isn't likely to be a "smoking gun" in Hinman's email that will put this all to rest for the business or Ripple. Hinman did, however, leave the SEC following his infamous statement to join Andreessen Horowitz, a company with connections to the Ethereum Foundation. Notably, both the SEC and Ripple have requested that the judge render a decision based on the evidence at hand, rather than proceeding to trial.
A standard that might be used by other token initiatives is at stake in the Ripple case. If the business prevails, there may be a case for ongoing token sales to finance the development of decentralized projects, albeit the legal system will eventually decide what XRP buyers believed they were purchasing.
Two major corporations provide significant support for Ripple in the SEC case. Is this the last chapter?
Two significant corporations have backed Ripple and stated that they are interested in the result of the current legal dispute. The dispute is about to be concluded after two years of legal wins and losses after both parties asked for a summary judgment to end the case.
In its SEC complaint, the San Francisco-based fintech business Ripple Labs Inc. has acquired significant backing from two sizable corporations. The most recent update states that I-Remit, a cross-border money transfer business based in the Philippines, and TapJets, a private jet charter firm, have entered the case and asked to submit an amicus brief to demonstrate the value of the XRP token.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Ripple and its officials of offering XRP tokens for sale as unregistered securities. Ripple has denied this assertion and questioned the timing of the SEC's case as well as the conflict of interest posed by former SEC director William Hinman, who earned millions from an Ethereum-supporting company while serving in the position. It's significant to remember that the case against Ripple was brought during Hinman's presidency.
Two sizable corporations are supporting Ripple Labs as the issue is likely to be resolved following the filing of summary judgments by both Ripple and the SEC, saying that the judge had access to sufficient material to render a decision.
According to James K. Filan, the attorney for Ripple, I-Remit has released a formal statement in support of Ripple and requested that the court consider it while making its ruling.
I-Remit, a Ripple partner, offers this argument in favor of the company: "In our use of the XRP token, we never considered it as a security, but rather as a tool for fast, cost-effective, cross-border transfer." Additionally, the business charged that the SEC had distorted the meaning of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to undermine its authority in the sector. The SEC is said to be ignorant of contemporary technologies, according to the statement.
TapJets, a private jet charter company, has also stepped up to support Ripple. The XRP payment option is included in the charter. The charter describes its contact with the token as "essential" to its business because it allows for payment outside of bank operating hours. This has made it possible for its customers to make purchases and book flights whenever they want. It further stated that the company has made significant investments in technology and would suffer severe losses if the token were to be recognized as a security.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, has voiced confidence in winning the legal battle, as CNF has reported. He maintains that Ripple will eventually prevail because the evidence is overwhelming.
Justice Justifies Ripple (XRP): SEC Forced to Come Clean
The judge affirms that The SEC has suffered setbacks in its legal battle with Ripple, which started at the end of 2020. The regulator will have to use force to be beaten despite itself.
The SEC occasionally views William Hinman, a former director of the Division of Corporation Finance, as expressing a personal viewpoint devoid of any authority. The document may occasionally be described by the regulator as one that falls under his purview within the organization and that, as a result, should be protected by the law governing the confidentiality of internal discussions for the creation of policies or decision-making.
The phrase "current Ether bids and sales are not securities transactions" was emphasized by William Hinman at the time in his speech.
The SEC is the target of Ripple's legal team's attempt to use these comments against it by showing how this logic can be applied to XRP tokens, which would make them inapplicable as securities in contrast to the agency's position.
The SEC asked for William Hinman's testimony to be protected and simply ignored in this case, but Judge Sarah Netburn rejected that request in July of last year.
The SEC, refusing to concede, requested that Judge Analisa Torres overturn this ruling. The regulator has recently experienced another setback, though. The documents from this deposition had to be produced by the agency as of September 29, and her complaint may now conflict with those documents since the judge issued that order.
Therefore, in the end, the commission will have to provide Ripple access to the emails and memos of this argument of contention, barring yet another turn in this judicial process.
Both the SEC and Ripple have requested summary judgment, which might signal the end of this legal battle. Ripple has gained ground by decisively defeating opponents. However, the SEC likewise appears to be convinced—at least on the surface—of the validity of its claims.
XRP lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple: Two companies want to comment
Two businesses have applied to serve as amicus curiae, or "friend of the court," in favor of Ripple Labs in the legal action that the Securities and Exchange Commission brought against Ripple in 2020.
I-Remit Inc., a global payment remittance corporation with its headquarters in the Philippines, applied for leave to file an amicus curiae brief on Friday along with other documents in the Southern District of New York's district court.
A request to file an amicus brief was also made on Friday by TapJets Inc., a private jet charter and aircraft management company.
An amicus brief, also known as an amicus curiae brief, is often submitted by a party-unaffiliated individual or group who requests permission from the court to submit a brief that seeks to influence the court's judgment.
The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, claiming that its sale of XRP, the XRP Ledger native coin that runs Ripple's payment network, constituted an offering of unregistered securities worth more than US$1.38 billion. Additionally listed as co-defendants by the SEC for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple's actions were the company's executive chairman Chris Larsen and chief executive Brad Garlinghouse.
I-Remit responded to the SEC's contention that "the major motive for anyone to buy XRP was to speculate on it as an investment" by stating in its proposed amicus brief that it does not use XRP "to speculate on it" and does not consider XRP to be an investment.
In its letter of motion, TapJets argued that it was crucial to take XRP in compensation for its services.
The court last month authorized the bitcoin advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce to participate in the case as an amicus curiae.
After a US court dismisses the SEC's protest in the Ripple litigation, the price of XRP rises.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was ordered to disclose drafts of a 2018 speech given by a former agency director, William Hinman, as part of the securities watchdog's lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc. The SEC objected to the orders, but a U.S. federal judge overruled them on Thursday, causing the price of XRP to increase.
Judge Analisa Torres disregarded the SEC's objections and instructed the organization to abide by the earlier decisions in an order on Thursday.
According to information from CoinMarketCap, XRP increased 12.6% on the last day to reach US$0.4932 at 3:45 p.m. Hong Kong time.
The SEC contended that the speech records should not be made public because they include "predecisional" information since they represent the personal opinions of SEC employees rather than official agency policy.
After the SEC July 27 filed objections to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn's earlier orders ordering the SEC to release internal Hinman speech drafts, the most recent order was issued.
The SEC filed a complaint against Ripple in December 2020, claiming that the company's sale of XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger that runs its payment network, constituted an offering of unregistered securities worth more than US$1.38 billion.
Additionally listed as co-defendants by the SEC for allegedly aiding and abetting Ripple's actions were the CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen.
The SEC and Ripple have been at odds over Hinman's speech, in which he argued that Ether and Bitcoin should not be regarded as securities. This is because Ripple wants to strengthen its fair notice defense.
1 billion XRP Didn't Leave Escrow This Time; Is Ripple Done with Regular Withdrawals?
It is now October 3 and the withdrawal did not occur on Saturday, the first day of the month, as has become customary over the previous few years for Ripple to do.
This could mean that the ongoing effort to remove 55 billion XRP every month has ended. To support the token's liquidity, Ripple started issuing one billion XRP at the beginning of each month in 2018 and injected it into circulation each time. It released two 500 million XRP pieces at a time during the previous two years, locking the remaining 800 million into escrow until the following month.
These withdrawals came from 55 escrows that Ripple set up and each held one billion coins. They began in 2018, and they were supposed to end this year. The XRP community started a petition to halt additional withdrawals of XRP when they first began because they were worried that they would keep the price of XRP low. Over time, it became evident, though, that they had no effect at all on the XRP rate. At the time of writing, XRP had dropped from its weekend high of $0.48 to trade at $0.4405.
After a 25% rally, XRP may be recharging for another surge: October 3 Crypto Market Review
While most assets are showing modest increases at the start of this week, altcoins are displaying some positive dynamics despite ending the previous week in the red.
However, the low volatility and trading volume are indicators of the bulls' fragility, and any unfavorable news will probably cause the market to correct. Cosmos (ATOM), which has had its price rise by more than 2% over the past day, is one of the market's top gainers right now. The asset is positive, but it is not without downside because it breached the crucial support level of the 50-day moving average. Because ATOM's movement in the downtrend may continue to speed up without a base, this may be a concerning indicator.
In contrast to ATOM, Shiba Inu is attempting to break past a 50-day moving average resistance level while contending with the weak backing of SHIB bulls. The consolidation around the current price will likely continue due to the low trading volume and lack of inflows. Even though there is still a chance for success, the volatility of the token is most likely to be hardly affected.
Given that bulls have been unable to lower the price of the first cryptocurrency below the fundamental threshold for almost a month now, the $18,000 support level appears to be one of the strongest levels Bitcoin has previously encountered.
The first cryptocurrency's current price level appears to represent the bottom of the consolidation channel that it has been moving in for the past few months. Approximately $24,000 marks the maximum boundary, going by the first asset's performance.
Although there are no significant events scheduled for the cryptocurrency market or the financial industry in general, the asset's low trading volume and lack of inflows into it indicate that it will likely continue to drift sideways. Only the potential failure of one of the greatest investment banks in the world, Credit Suisse, could cause both markets to tremble. The story underlying the potential market meltdown of $1.5 trillion has been covered by U.Today.
The main driver of XRP's remarkable 55% increase was court success, but as soon as the dust settled, the cryptocurrency immediately reversed, losing nearly 50% of what it had gained previously. The bulls, though, were able to push it back up.
As of right now, the price performance of XRP is something that resembles a symmetrical triangle, which is a typical indicator for volatile assets that undergo brief and erratic rallies. The asset tops out, consolidates, and then bulls and bears start pushing it in different directions, which causes a rise in volatility in either direction. Even while it is difficult to predict which direction XRP will turn after it reaches the triangle's end, the cryptocurrency's dropping volume points to the likelihood that it will continue to fall unless exceptional purchasing activity emerges on the market in the wake of Ripple's victory over the SEC in court.
The CEO of Ripple criticizes phony accounts on social media
In a recent conversation on Twitter, Ripple's CEO and chief operating officer Brad Garlinghouse lamented the rise of cryptocurrency fraud bots.
The head of cryptocurrencies said he finds it incomprehensible that he still needs to report his impersonators. The head of Ripple has observed that numerous Twitter users are replying to tweets using his image. Recent instances of verified Twitter accounts being stolen to advertise phony XRP giveaways designed to defraud token owners of their money have been covered by U.Today.
On Sunday, someone posing as Garlinghouse took control of the popular Spanish vocalist Bertin Osborne's official Twitter account. It took hours for the social media platform to restore Osborne’s account after it was busy spamming messages about the giveaway in the replies of various popular cryptocurrency personalities. Official government accounts are also not safe from scammers. In early September, the Twitter account of Oman’s Indian embassy was also hacked to promote an XRP scam. Within the same month, the official Twitter account of the CoinDCX account was compromised similarly.
In his tweet, Garlinghouse has noted that other popular cryptocurrency personalities have also suffered from bots, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao being among the most important targets of fake users.
According to Garlinghouse, scammers are taking advantage of "thousands" of people on social media. YouTube was sued by Ripple for its inability to remove fake videos with Garlinghouse, but the case was ultimately settled.
Volcano XRP Bryant McGill, Bestselling Author, Going to Blow Soon believes
McGill is a bestselling author, social entrepreneur, and "human potential thinking leader," according to his LinkedIn profile. He reiterated his earlier statement from September 4 in a subsequent tweet, demonstrating that he still stands by it. He tweeted back in September that he anticipated the "volcano" surrounding XRP and Ripple to start erupting at some point soon. He added that he has been stating this for the last 12 months.
McGill is one of many authors that have recently expressed interest in XRP and Ripple through the use of Twitter. Last Monday, Anndy Lian, the author of a recently released book on NFTs, tweeted to his audience to determine whether he should begin purchasing XRP, ADA, or continue to hold meme tokens.
Daniel Moncada, a cast member of the television series "Breaking Bad," also tweeted that Ripple would prevail in court against the SEC.
However, in earlier tweets from these individuals—two of whom identify as influencers—cryptocurrency and its related topics are hardly ever mentioned.
Analise Torres, a district court judge, ordered the SEC to produce documents about William Hinman, a former director of the division of corporation finance at the regulatory commission, last week, giving the San Francisco-based fintech company the upper hand in their battle with the regulatory agency.
Ripple has won a big battle with this. As a result, the news may have sparked a new XRP rise. The 200-day moving average had been a strong barrier for the coin, but it has now been overcome.
For XRP to reverse the bearish two-year trend, it must remain above it. On September 29, the coin printed a lengthy, hourly green candle that rose by 15.45%. It did, however, lose 10% over the weekend, which is almost all of its enormous gains.
Attorney For XRP Calls SEC Chair for New Narrative Regarding Crypto in Kardashian Case
American star Kim Kardashian was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Kim did, however, make a $1.26 million penalty payment to resolve the accusations. The XRP lawsuit's Amicus Curiae, John Deaton, has emphasized the commission's changing stance on cryptocurrencies in the complaint.
Deaton referred to the word "Crypto asset security," as defined by SEC Chair Gary Gensler. This, according to him, is a component of managing the story.
The commission is no longer referring to XRP as a "Digital asset security," according to the XRP lawyer. In the Ripple Labs and LBRY instances, this phrase was utilized. While the SEC Chair is currently referring to it as "crypto securities." According to Deaton, the focus should be on advancing the story.
He continued, "SEC chair is shaping, directing, and maintaining a story." He also says that Gensler is engaged in a zero-sum game in this situation. But the SEC-compliant Ripple and XRP were fighting the token itself.
The same idea was also emphasized by Fox Business correspondent Eleanor Terrett. She said that the EMAX token is being referred to as "crypto asset security" by the SEC chair. Although she was grateful to Andrew Ross Sorkin for pressing the SEC chair for an honest response about cryptocurrencies.
Gensler maintained his position, nevertheless, by continuing to refer to the majority of cryptocurrency tokens as securities. Nevertheless, he declined to comment on individual claims or instances.
What's going on with Kardashian?
In the meantime, Kim Kardashian was given additional charges by the SEC for promoting crypto asset security on social media. EthereumMax made it available and sold it. The money Kim received in exchange for the marketing was not made public, though.
It has been claimed that she hid the $250K she received for promoting the EMAX tokens. In light of their financial objectives, the SEC chair encouraged investors to weigh an investment's possible risks and rewards.
Kim Kardashian pays the SEC $1.26 million to end the cryptocurrency crisis.
For failing to disclose that she was being paid to promote a cryptocurrency, Kim Kardashian agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $1.26 million.
Kardashian agreed to help with the SEC's ongoing investigation, in addition to paying the punishment, the SEC announced on Monday.
When Kardashian neglected to declare that she had been paid $250,000 to write an article on EXMX tokens, a cryptocurrency asset from EthereaumMax, in June 2021, she attracted the attention of the SEC.
"Any celebrity or other individual who promotes a crypto asset security must disclose the kind, source, and amount of pay they received in exchange for the promotion," stated Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC's division of enforcement, in a news statement on Monday.
"Also, when famous people and other influential people support a cryptocurrency thing you've never heard of, it's for sure they were paid to do it?" jotted down Bloomberg ‘s Matt Levine in the MoneyStuff newsletter. Sincerely, the best investment is to contact the SEC in a whistleblower letter if you see an influencer's Instagram post endorsing a cryptocurrency product without disclosing that she was compensated for it.
The SEC determined that Kardashian had broken the federal securities laws' anti-touting clause. Kardashian pleaded guilty to the charge without disputing or admitting the SEC's conclusions.
According to a statement from Kardashian's attorney, "Ms. Kardashian is delighted to have addressed this matter with the SEC." "Kardashian completely cooperated with the SEC from the start and she continues to be willing to do anything she can to help the SEC in this situation," the statement read. To prevent a drawn-out argument, she wished to put this issue behind her. She is now free to pursue her numerous business endeavors thanks to the arrangement she negotiated with the SEC.
How about Kardashian's efforts to become a lawyer? Her show's viewers may remember that she eventually succeeded on her fourth attempt at passing California's "baby bar," or First-Year Law Student's Examination. What kind of effects may an SEC charge have on her prospective legal career?
According to defense lawyer Duncan Levin of Levin & Associates, PLLC, it's a matter that would undoubtedly come up during her admission to the bar. This is a severe matter, he declared. This is against the law regarding securities, and candidates for the bar are evaluated based on their moral character.
The founder of CryptoLaw claims that the SEC wants to control how the term "Crypto Securities" is used.
The founder of CryptoLaw, John Deaton, has denounced the manipulation of the term "crypto securities" by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
John Deaton recently criticized the agency for attempting to control the narrative by using the tag "crypto securities" instead of "digital asset security," which was utilized in the Ripple and LBRY cases.
According to U.Today, SEC head Gary Gensler provided an update on star Kim Kardashian, who received a $1.29 million punishment for promoting EthereumMax, which turned out to be a scam.
The SEC announced charges against Kim Kardashian for advertising a "crypto security" provided by EthereumMax without reporting the cash she got for the marketing, according to a tweet from the agency.
According to John Deaton, the purpose of the recently formed "crypto securities" term was to steer the narrative.
He noted: "Gary Gensler is engaged in a zero-sum game when he creates, manages, and perpetuates a narrative. The SEC was attacking the token itself in the case against Ripple and XRP, which is analogous to alleging that the oranges in Howey were the stocks, had anyone read the document."
To support Ripple in its legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, private jet charter company TapJets asked the court to accept an amicus brief over the weekend.
In summary, it is argued that XRP should not be classified as a security. Since it enables people to book flights outside of typical banking hours, TapJets, a company that accepts XRP in exchange for its services, calls such a payment alternative "essential."
I-Remit, a remittance company established in the Philippines and a Ripple partner, also submitted an amicus brief to describe the value of XRP. This occurred after the court accepted the Digital Chamber of Commerce's amicus brief in support of Ripple.
In light of remarks made by a former SEC director, the price of XRP may increase by 50%.
Investors in XRP are optimistic that a prospective court decision favoring the altcoin might increase its value by at least 50%.
XRP is hoping that the token could experience a significant price increase in 2022 based on the crossed-fingers assumption that Ripple will prevail in its protracted legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The documents written by William Hinman, the former chief of the SEC's corporation finance division, must now be made public, according to an order from district court judge Analisa Torres on September 29.
Ripple speculates that Hinman may have mentioned in the secret documents that Ether (ETH), the native coin of the Ethereum network, is not a security. That is primarily due to Hinman's declaration of the same in June 2018 during his speech at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit.
In contrast to what the SEC asserted in the complaint filed in December 2020, Ripple's defense might utilize Hinman's work as proof that its blockchain's native cryptocurrency, XRP, should not be considered a security.
Since then, many regulated cryptocurrency exchanges have banned XRP, including Coinbase and Bitstamp. It is presently one of the only top cryptocurrencies that haven't either established or reclaimed a record high during the boom of the 2020–2021 crypto market, showing caution from traders.
Some may contend that XRP pricing is still inexpensive when compared to other leading cryptocurrencies from a technical analysis perspective. And given that the token gained 20% in the day following Judge Torres' judgment, a Ripple victory might change that.
What Ripple's Recent Success Means for Its Current Battle With the SEC
As part of its ongoing legal defense against the United States, Ripple scored another procedural success last week. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency company and a number of its executives in 2020 for the unregistered sale of XRP worth $1.3 billion.
In a speech on September 29, William Hinman, the former director of the SEC Corporation Finance Division, claimed that ether (ETH) was not a security because it was "sufficiently decentralized," similar to bitcoin. On September 29, a U.S. District Court judge decided to release emails and other correspondence written by Hinman.
This investigation is an excerpt from CoinDesk's daily compilation of the most important blockchain and cryptocurrency news articles, The Node. To receive the complete newsletter, sign up here.
In a dispute that has been ongoing for almost two years, Ripple's legal strategy is based in large part on these communications. Ripple is attempting to show, rather than reach a settlement with the organization, that the SEC's approach to crypto regulation is ambiguous, contradictory, and arbitrary. The case may establish a significant precedent for the cryptocurrency industry if it is successful.
Liz Boison of Hogan Lovells wrote in an opinion piece last week that "the final version of Hinman's speech discussed a concept that is central to the Ripple founders' defense theory - whether assets that function only as a means of exchange in a decentralized network are not a security, even if they could be packaged and sold as a security."
The SEC has continually attempted to keep early drafts and other materials associated with Hinman's speech from Ripple, although it was given at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit in June 2018 and is open to the public. The SEC's lack of transparency, in this case, is, at the very least, unsportsmanlike, and it would be preferable for the general investing public to have access to them.
It's not yet apparent whether any of this will significantly affect the case, even though the SEC will now be required to provide Hinman's paperwork. In actuality, the judge made the documents public for the same reason that they represent one employee's personal views and not those of the entire organization.
In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit alleging that Ripple's "rolling" sales of XRP constituted an investment contract and securities offering. The lawsuit was filed against Ripple and its respective current and former CEOs, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. Ripple has used the proceeds from these sales to pay for operations and, most likely, its pricey legal defense.
The action was brought just before Chairman Gary Gensler assumed leadership of the SEC, indicating his more forceful approach to controlling the cryptocurrency business. The SEC, according to Ripple, "selected two winners" in the digital asset market: BTC and ETH, and is unfairly going after the payments-focused business. (XRP, which was removed from several cryptocurrency exchanges after the agency filed a lawsuit in 2020, gained 9% on the latest information.)
Hinman's correspondence, according to the SEC, was not deliberate in the matter and was therefore shielded by the attorney-client privilege. The messaging service Kik, which was sued by the SEC following its initial coin offering (ICO), and settled with them, also requested access to these records.
The SEC, according to critics, "regulates through enforcement" rather than articulating how cryptocurrencies and tokens should adhere to current securities laws. Who the SEC has sued, which coins it considers legal, and why only add to the complexity of the matter.
There isn't likely to be a "smoking gun" in Hinman's email that will put this all to rest for the business or Ripple. But it's important to remember that Hinman left the SEC after giving his controversial speech and joined Andreessen Horowitz, a company with connections to the Ethereum Foundation. Notably, the SEC and Ripple have both urged the judge to rule based on the evidence at hand - without taking the case to trial.
A standard that might be used by other token initiatives is at stake in the Ripple case. If the business prevails, there may be a case for ongoing token sales to finance the development of decentralized projects, albeit the legal system will eventually decide what XRP buyers believed they were purchasing.
Investors anticipate the SEC's upcoming action as XRP price pressure returns.
Monday saw an increase in XRP of 3.21%. XRP finished the session at $0.46274, somewhat reversing a loss of 5.64% that began on Sunday.
XRP has a rocky start to the day, dropping to a low early in the morning of $0.43800. The price of XRP increased to a late high of $0.46943, avoiding the First Major Support Level (S1) at $0.4356. But when XRP ran into the First Major Resistance Level (R1) at around $0.4696, it fell back and finished the day at less than $0.4630.
There were no new developments in the ongoing SEC v. Ripple case that could give XRP guidance. Following the most recent court decision, there have been no updates or comments, therefore XRP is now in the hands of the larger crypto market.
US economic indices showed strength on Monday, as data from the manufacturing sector reduced expectations of an aggressive rate increase by the Fed in November.
The ISM Manufacturing PMI dropped to 50.9 in September from 52.8 in August. Although the sector was still growing, Fed apprehension was reduced throughout the US session by the employment and new order sub-components. The Employment Index dropped from 54.2 to 48.7 and the New Orders Index from 51.3 to 47.1.
While US economic statistics will still have an impact, the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit will continue to be the main motivator. Investors are awaiting a reaction from the SEC to the court's decision to overrule its challenge to the court's denial of the SEC's application to assert the attorney-client privilege over records relating to the William Hinman speech.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), according to William Hinman, Division of Corporation Finance, are not securities. This was stated in a well-known speech from 2018.
Since the decision on Thursday, there hasn't been any reaction, which leads one to believe an appeal will be filed.
Defense lawyer James Filan discussed the SEC's alternatives in a series of tweets. These included requesting that Judge Torres reevaluate her decision to overrule the SEC objection, requesting certification of an appeal of the court's ruling, Bringing a petition for a writ of mandamus before the Court of Appeals, as well as the aforementioned.
An undetermined course of action led to a retracement from Thursday's high of $0.50938. Until there is certainty in the future, XRP will continue to be under pressure.
To reach the First Major Resistance Level (R1) at $0.4754, Technical Indicators XRP must move past the pivot point at $0.4567. Investors will be watching for any changes from the Defendants and the SEC.
The upside would probably be constrained by rumors of an SEC appeal. If there are no changes in the case, however, worse than expected US economic figures would support a bullish session. The job vacancies on US JOLT will generate a lot of curiosity today.
In the event of a prolonged rise, the Second Major Resistance Level (R2) at $0.4882 and $0.50 would be the target for the bulls. At $0.5196, there is the Third Major Resistance Level (R3).
If the pivot is not crossed, the First Major Support Level (S1) at $0.4440 remains in play. In the absence of a prolonged sell-off, XRP should steer clear of the Second Major Support Level (S2) at $0.4253 and below $0.4350.
At $0.3939, the Third Major Support Level (S3) is located.
The 4-hourly candlestick chart (below) and the EMAs both provided positive signals.
XRP was trading above the 100-day EMA at the time of writing, at $0.44095. The 200-day EMA and the 100-day EMA both widened when the 50-day EMA drifted away from the 100-day EMA. Bullish signals were present.
A breakout from R1 ($0.4757) to R2 ($0.4882) would be supported by an XRP move through the 50-day EMA ($0.45838). S1 ($0.4440) and the 100-day EMA ($0.44095) would remain in play, though, if the 50-day EMA could not be crossed. At $0.41225, the 200-day EMA is located.
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