Ripple holds steady above $0.44 as CEO slams Democrats for the SEC’s war on crypto
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the majority of Democrats to take notice of SEC’s war on crypto during a roundtable on Wednesday.
- The event brought together Coinbase CLO, key congressional leaders, and Garlinghouse, and called attention to American innovation and crypto.
- XRP hovers around $0.45, adding 0.50% to its value on Thursday.
Ripple (XRP) CEO Brad Garlinghouse spoke at a crypto roundtable event on Wednesday. The Ripple executive slammed Democrats for not taking notice of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler’s enforcement actions on crypto.
Garlinghouse addressed a gathering that included Mark Cuban, Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal, and key US Congressional leaders.
There was no further update in the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit and XRP hovers around $0.45, at the time of writing.
Daily Digest Market Movers: Ripple executive slams democrats for lack of engagement with the crypto industry
- Ripple executive Brad Garlinghouse thanked the crypto roundtable participants, early on Wednesday morning, after addressing a gathering that brought together several US Congressional leaders and the Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal.
- Garlinghouse slammed the Democrats for “enabling” what he refers to as an unlawful war on crypto.
- According to the Ripple CEO, the SEC Chair has sabotaged the ability of Americans to innovate.
- Garlinghouse noted that Republicans have announced a pro-crypto stance and called out voters to take note of the issue that affects crypto traders in the US.
Thank you to @RoKhanna for being an exceptional leader and engaging with the crypto industry. This morning’s crypto roundtable, bringing together folks like @mcuban, @iampaulgrewal, @ddisparte, etc with the White House and key congressional leaders such as @SenGillibrand and…
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) July 10, 2024
- The SEC vs. Ripple ruling is expected in July. Judge Analisa Torres will rule on a key issue, the fine to be imposed on Ripple for alleged securities law violation. While the SEC quoted $102.6 million in its last letter, Ripple has put forward a $10 million figure.
- XRP traders are closely watching the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit and the US Presidential election, with CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s recent comments on Democrats.
Technical analysis: XRP extends gains to $0.45
Ripple is in an upward correction. The altcoin extends gains on Thursday, rallying to $0.4509 at the time of writing. Ripple could rally towards the next key resistance at $0.4760, the July 2 low. This marks a 5.55% increase in XRP price.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator shows that MACD line is about to cross above the signal line. If this occurs, it would support a bullish thesis for Ripple.
XRP/USDT daily chart
Ripple could find support at $0.4032, the July 8 low, and $0.3823, the July 5 low.
SEC vs Ripple lawsuit FAQs
It depends on the transaction, according to a court ruling released on July 14: For institutional investors or over-the-counter sales, XRP is a security. For retail investors who bought the token via programmatic sales on exchanges, on-demand liquidity services and other platforms, XRP is not a security.
The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Ripple and its executives of raising more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered asset offering of the XRP token. While the judge ruled that programmatic sales aren’t considered securities, sales of XRP tokens to institutional investors are indeed investment contracts. In this last case, Ripple did breach the US securities law and will need to keep litigating over the around $729 million it received under written contracts.
The ruling offers a partial win for both Ripple and the SEC, depending on what one looks at. Ripple gets a big win over the fact that programmatic sales aren’t considered securities, and this could bode well for the broader crypto sector as most of the assets eyed by the SEC’s crackdown are handled by decentralized entities that sold their tokens mostly to retail investors via exchange platforms, experts say. Still, the ruling doesn’t help much to answer the key question of what makes a digital asset a security, so it isn’t clear yet if this lawsuit will set precedent for other open cases that affect dozens of digital assets. Topics such as which is the right degree of decentralization to avoid the “security” label or where to draw the line between institutional and programmatic sales are likely to persist.
The SEC has stepped up its enforcement actions toward the blockchain and digital assets industry, filing charges against platforms such as Coinbase or Binance for allegedly violating the US Securities law. The SEC claims that the majority of crypto assets are securities and thus subject to strict regulation. While defendants can use parts of Ripple’s ruling in their favor, the SEC can also find reasons in it to keep its current strategy of regulation by enforcement.
The court decision is a partial summary judgment. The ruling can be appealed once a final judgment is issued or if the judge allows it before then. The case is in a pretrial phase, in which both Ripple and the SEC still have the chance to settle.
Author
Ekta Mourya
FXStreet
Ekta Mourya has extensive experience in fundamental and on-chain analysis, particularly focused on impact of macroeconomics and central bank policies on cryptocurrencies.
