The recent news marks an end to the historic legal battle between Ripple Labs and US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). This three years long legal proceeding has come to a conclusion with the official announcement of the removal of XRP, the native cryptocurrency of Ripple from the list of securities on CoinGecko. This news has sent waves of enthusiasm and positivity in the cryptocurrency community, shedding light on the evolving landscape of crypto regulations.
SEC’s Allegation Against Ripple
The legal proceedings between Ripple Lab, a prominent blockchain company, and the US Security and Exchange Commission trace back to December 2020. It started when the US regulatory body filed a case against Ripple accusing them of conducting unregistered security offerings through the sale of ERP tokens. The case against the company along with its two chief executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen was based on the idea that ERP should be classified as security with the same regulation as traditional stocks and bonds.
Ripple defended the accusations stating that the company has not been involved in wrongdoings. Their token, XRP is not a security by a digital asset. This, however, put no stop to the legal proceedings degrading the reputation of the firm severely in the cryptocurrency market.
The case saw a development on the 13th of July when the US District Court Judge Analisa Torres stated that the XRP token fails to meet the criteria under Howey Test for it to be classified as security. Proceeding Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling, US Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn issued an order for the settlement conference between Ripple and SEC.
Removal of XRP from the SEC’s Securities List
The recent announcement marks a significant victory for Ripple Labs. Their native token, XRP, has been removed from the list of securities on CoinGecko. This shift in regulatory framework demonstrates their intentions to adopt the ever-evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
The community expressed their enthusiasm on the announcement, expressing their gratitude to John Deaton, the lawyer and advocate of XRP. John took a light note announcing this significant victory on Twitter stating: “Today: Not on the list: XRP.” He referred to the situation three years ago when Ripple was seen struggling to maintain its market stance owing to the legal actions taken by SEC.
Post the official announcement CoinGecko, a renowned cryptocurrency ranking platform published a list of 48 tokens considered securities by the SEC. This list included the following tokens: Binance (BNB), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), TRON (TRX), Polygon (MATIC), Toncoin (TON), Binance USD (BUSD), Cosmos (ATOM), Filecoin (FIL), Internet Computer (ICP), NEAR Protocol (NEAR), Algorand (ALGO), Sandbox (SAND), Axie Infinity (AXS), Decentraland (MANA), Flow (FLOW), Chiliz (CHZ), and BitTorrent (BTT).
Conclusion
The removal of the XRP token from the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is significant money in Ripple’s tedious and long legal battle. However, the positive news highlights the changing regulatory dynamics pertaining to the cryptocurrency market. This shows SEC’s willingness to reassess its position on cryptocurrency, with the potential to pave the way for a more favorable regulatory environment.
Disclaimer: This article was created for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. An asset’s past performance does not predict its future returns. Before making an investment, please conduct your own research, as digital assets like cryptocurrencies are highly risky and volatile financial instruments.
