XRP may not bear an impact as terrible as other altcoins would, even if Ripple loses the SEC lawsuit

Ripple has been fighting the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the last two years. The lawsuit, which is expected to become a landmark case in crypto regulation, is nearing its conclusion, and the possibility of losing the case has got many Ripple users worried. But even if Ripple loses the case, they should not panic.

Why Ripple has nothing to worry about

Since December 2020, Ripple has been suffering the legal torture that the SEC put out, and the company still stands strong, still finding real-world use cases. Even though many cryptocurrency exchanges have delisted their native token XRP, the project is continuing to serve the inherent purpose of its existence.

Banks and international payment facilitators to date remain unbothered by the lawsuit as major US and UK banks have been deploying Ripple’s services for years now. The likes of Bank of America in the United States have been maintaining their partnership with Ripple since 2020. Similarly, PNC Bank has also stuck with Ripple since 2016 for faster payments. 

In the United Kingdom too, Standard Chartered is sustaining its partnership of seven years with Ripple. The bank has opened payments to nearly 50 countries with the help of the service provider, expanding its reach significantly.

Furthermore, the increasing geopolitical troubles among nations and recent banking failures may lead to central banks pulling away from depending on corresponding banks. The fallout between Russia and the United States, as well as the de-dollarization that Russia and China commenced in their bilateral trades, are examples of how central banks might find trouble communicating transactions. This could be a boon to Ripple as it was designed to fill this role.

The lack of negative influence of the lawsuit is visible in the fact that Montenegro even picked the blockchain for the pilot program of its CBDC. This came at a time when regulatory uncertainty has been at its highest in the crypto market, with the SEC cracking down on everyone.

Losing the lawsuit ain’t a problem for XRP

Although all indications suggest that Ripple is on its way to winning the ruling in the lawsuit, a loss may still have some impact on the altcoin, albeit minimal. All that losing the case would do is mandate XRP to register as a security to be relisted by exchanges.

As it is, the XRP community’s bullishness has kept the token among the top 10 cryptos with a market cap of $27 billion. Furthermore, supporters could lean in further on the token to avenge the project. This would keep the altcoin afloat even after the outcome bearing no significant damage to XRP.

All XRP has lost in the last two years since the lawsuit began is its social presence, which seems to be returning. At the moment, XRP’s social dominance is sitting at April 2021 highs, with the project registering two out of every 100 crypto-related queries to its name. Even if the case is lost, XRP will likely maintain these levels.

XRP social presence

However, this would increase the SEC’s powers and scrutiny over other cryptocurrencies. The recent regulatory crackdown has been terrible as is for the crypto market, and additional power could make it worse. 

The SEC could achieve its aim of becoming the chief regulator, bringing high fines to projects that don’t meet its “security” standards. The regulatory body might also implement a stricter industry environment, making the crypto space far less lucrative for developers and leading to a decline in innovation in the industry.