Ripple’s chief legal officer has urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to own up to its multiple missteps in enforcement actions against the crypto industry. He referenced court rulings that criticized the SEC for “gross abuse of power,” lack of “faithful allegiance to the law,” and being “arbitrary and capricious.” Ripple’s Legal Chief […]
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Industry watchers see the development advancing not only Ripple’s XRP token but also benefiting the wider crypto sector by adopting trusted financial industry models for security and cooperation.
In a move viewed as transformational for cross-border cryptocurrency storage and transfers, blockchain company Ripple‘s Metaco custody network has partnered with digital asset custodial provider Zodia Custody. The collaboration marks what Zodia CEO Julian Sawyer regards as ‘third generation’ custody. The partnership tries to form a regulatory complaint and seamless digital service that also has traditional finance standards.
Industry watchers see the development advancing not only Ripple’s XRP token but also benefiting the wider crypto sector by adopting trusted financial industry models for security and cooperation. Together, UK-based Zodia and Swiss firm Metaco want to deliver robust, regulated solutions for institutional participation under Ripple’s guidance. In commenting on this and illustrating how this cooperation will work, Sawyer said:
“I think of this as the third generation of crypto custody, where multiple custodians are linked together. For example, a client in Brazil, who is a custodian, may want to store some assets in the UK, and they’re not currently in the UK. So they could use us as their sub-custodian and use our regulatory permissions, etc. I think the multiple networks that are out there are really key in terms of linking custodians together, and linking custodians to exchanges and venues in a compliant manner.”
As a leading crypto custodian focused on institutional clients globally, Zodia boasts backing from Standard Chartered Bank which helps it to provide highly secure and compliant services. Its partnership with Ripple-owned Metaco will facilitate easier access to these offerings across borders. Observers also note surging institutional interest in custody networks following past crypto exchange violations and vulnerabilities just like the FTX crash of last year. By evolving to mimic traditional financial practices, their goal is to reduce counterparty and transactional hazards.
The collaboration is a vital step in linking digital asset custodians around the world while satisfying compliance requirements. This ‘third generation’ approach joins multiple regulated crypto custodians internationally for smooth cross-border asset movements.
By potentially positioning Ripple’s XRP token favorably for major global banks to easily adopt, the cooperation also reflects ongoing dedication to technological progress and confidence in XRP’s prospects. It positions the blockchain solution in a good spot in its goal to get more adoption by banks around the world. It also potentially furthers the evolution of digital asset protection and approves growth for compliant international frameworks.
Upon the release of such collaboration news, it is anticipated that community expectations regarding the respective token will soar. In this instance, analysts predict that this development will significantly impact the price of XRP, leading to a surge in both weekly and monthly highs.
Following a two-week retracement period, the price of XRP has begun to rebound. Over the past week, the price has experienced an increase of more than 5%, instilling hope among XRP holders. The news itself further bolsters this optimism and is expected to influence overall market sentiment.
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Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty has expressed reservations about the recent string of legal defeats suffered by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission during Gary Gensler’s tenure. These remarks follow another setback for the SEC in the Fifth Circuit Court after Ripple’s victory in the XRP lawsuit in July 2023.
Alderoty characterized this sequence of events as a “deeply concerning trend” in which the SEC, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, appears to be straying from its commitment to upholding the law. Alderoty expressed concern about the SEC’s repeated arbitrary and capricious actions in court cases, suggesting a troubling pattern under Gensler’s leadership.
Another day and another Court finds that the SEC again acted arbitrarily and capriciously. Is anyone else concerned about this very troubling pattern of the SEC flouting any faithful allegiance to law under Mr. Gensler? https://t.co/5bUgSBUOI8
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) November 1, 2023
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the U.S. deemed the SEC’s stock buyback disclosure rule as arbitrary and lacking reasonable explanation on Oct. 31. The court has provided an opportunity for the SEC to demonstrate a thorough consideration of pertinent matters and provide a good basis for its decision. This development follows the SEC’s recent defeats in the XRP lawsuit and the Grayscale filing, which could hold significance for the crypto industry’s regulatory future.
The legal action, initiated by multiple U.S. business and trade associations, revolves around an SEC regulation mandating issuers to report daily information on share repurchases every quarter and to provide the rationale behind repurchasing their own stock.
Related: Ripple exec and XRP community back SEC commissioner’s LBRY lawsuit dissent
Judge Analisa Torres, on Oct. 25, 2023, issued an order officially dismissing charges against Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen in the Ripple v. U.S. SEC lawsuit. Furthermore, there have been developments regarding institutional sales of XRP (XRP). Judge Torres has requested a joint scheduling brief from both parties on this issue. The Summary Judgment on July 13, 2023, was a split verdict, favoring Ripple in the case of retail XRP token sales.
Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?
Bitcoin (BTC) passed $29,500 on Oct. 20 after an eventful 24 hours boosted BTC price trajectory, while XRP’s (XRP) price jumped above $0.50 in response to Ripple’s big legal win.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it edged closer to two-month highs from the start of the week.
The largest cryptocurrency appeared to feed off events surrounding a speech from Jerome Powell, chair of the United States Federal Reserve, the day prior.
Amid a U.S. bond rout, Powell was under pressure to deliver appropriate wording, and analysis even predicted a “very dovish” tone would dominate. In the event, the speech, which was briefly interrupted by protesters, saw Powell as highly conservative on the outlook.
“The stance of policy is restrictive, meaning that tight policy is putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation,” he said about interest rate hikes.
“Given the fast pace of the tightening, there may still be meaningful tightening in the pipeline.”
Powell said that the Fed acknowledged the potential problems of hiking rates too far.
“Doing too little could allow above-target inflation to become entrenched and ultimately require monetary policy to wring more persistent inflation from the economy at a high cost to employment. Doing too much could also do unnecessary harm to the economy,” he continued.
“Given the uncertainties and risks, and how far we have come, the Committee is proceeding carefully.”
Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed changing tides among market expectations when it comes to future rate decisions.
At its next meeting on Nov. 1, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is now unanimously thought to hold rates at their current levels, per data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Before Powell, the odds stood at 88%.
Following the speech, news broke that U.S. regulators had dropped criminal charges against executives of blockchain firm Ripple.
XRP’s price responded immediately, trading up over 6% in 24 hours at the time of writing.
Amid a backdrop of increasing anticipation over the approval of a U.S. Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF), Bitcoin gained momentum overnight.
Related: Bitcoin metrics ‘improve bullish odds’ as BTC price holds 200-week trendline
At the time of writing, the day’s highs stood at $29,689 — just $200 from the top of a snap volatility wick seen on Oct. 17.
$BTC has launched.
Keeping it as simple as it can get:
The same way 26.8k was the origin of our last impulse, 28.6k is now the origin of the current one. Above that, we are going A LOT higher, FAST.
Drop below 28.6k and the local uptrend will be violated and we may get a bit… pic.twitter.com/CbhLBo133G
— CrediBULL Crypto (@CredibleCrypto) October 20, 2023
“Bitcoin filling the wick, slowly but surely. Let’s go for that $30k tap,” popular trader Jelle wrote in part of an X analysis on the day, having previously argued that Bitcoin looked “eager to fill” the Oct. 17 wick.
“Today it’s going a very interesting day for trading… They have hit exactly $29400 where there were many liquidations,” fellow trader CrypNuevo continued.
In various X posts, CrypNuevo uploaded liquidation data from the past days, warning that long positions outnumbered shorts four to one. Bitcoin, he suggested, could retrace during the U.S. trading session.
Liquidation levels and liquidation heatmaps.
Quick thoughts:
– All our liquidation levels to the upside from yesterday have been hit.
– Delta long liquidations at $15B (mid-high amount and enough to consider a retrace is coming soon).
– Current long-short open positions… pic.twitter.com/dAqbRbaimc— CrypNuevo (@CrypNuevo) October 20, 2023
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Ripple has reportedly completed its acquisition of web3-focused company Fortress Trust for an undisclosed sum.
On Sept. 6, the crypto company revealed that it had agreed to purchase the Nevada-based chartered trust company. According to the press statement, the acquisition would further complement Ripple’s business and product roadmap.
The acquisition broadens Ripple’s regulatory licenses, including the addition of a Nevada license to its current holdings, such as the New York BitLicense and money transfer licenses across 30 U.S. states.
The purchase aligns with Ripple’s expansion plans, which have been positively influenced by a partial victory they secured against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier in the year, the crypto payment company completed a $250 million deal, making it the sole shareholder of Swiss-based crypto custody firm Metaco.
This strategic move enables Ripple to tap into Fortress Trust’s technology, licensing, and infrastructure, enhancing its ability to serve the growing crypto market.
Fortress Trust, founded by financial industry veteran Scott Purcell, specializes in providing financial and regulatory infrastructures for blockchain companies. Notably, Ripple was already a minority investor in Fortress Blockchain, the parent company of Fortress Trust, having participated in the company’s seed funding round in August 2022.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted that Fortress Trust had built an impressive business with recurring revenue and a strong roster of crypto-native and new-to-crypto customers since its launch in 2021. He added:
“We’re excited to bring on this team and its technology to accelerate our business and continue pressing our advantage in the areas critical to crypto infrastructure.”
The crypto company’s president, Monica Long, stated that the acquisition would help it “to build and deliver best-in-class customer experiences for enterprises using its crypto infrastructure across our payments and liquidity solutions.”
Fortress Blockchain CEO Scott Purcell said the purchase was a testament to the team and business they built within a short period.
The post Ripple’s acquisition of Fortress Trust adds to company’s regulatory licenses appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Now that Ripple has prevailed over the SEC in court, major players are eager to get their hands on XRP. According to recent data, institutions have been getting their hands on the cryptocurrency at a steady rate, as reflected in the digital asset fund flows report.
In the days following Ripple’s partial victory in the SEC lawsuit, XRP volumes and prices rose dramatically as crypto traders rushed to the cryptocurrency in anticipation of a continued bull run. However, price metrics from Coinmarketcap show that the euphoria has subsided, with XRP now down 13.39% in a monthly time frame. On-chain data has also shown whales dumping the token to take profits, increasing the selling pressure on the token.
On the other hand, the tide is turning for the once embattled crypto among institutional investors as inflows into XRP digital asset funds are increasing steadily. According to the weekly report on the digital asset fund flows by CoinShares, XRP saw $0.5 million in inflows last week.
Over the past 16 weeks, XRP has seen consistent inflows into crypto investment funds, making up 12% of all digital assets under management. In total, XRP’s assets under management have risen 127% since the beginning of the year, outpacing the growth of other popular altcoins like Polygon and Cardano.
XRP price returns to $0.6256 | Source: XRPUSD on Tradingview.com
Crypto funds, in general, have seen a shift to positive sentiment from investors. In the first week of the month, digital asset investment products saw outflows, with investors taking profits in recent weeks. Bitcoin alone saw outflows totaling $111 million, its highest since March. XRP, however, did witness inflows of $0.5 million during this period.
The latest report would see digital asset investment products receive inflows of $29 million throughout the week. Bitcoin would also return as the primary focus, seeing $27 million of inflows after three prior weeks of $144 million outflows.
With the recent inflows, institutional investors are signaling their faith in XRP’s future by increasing their asset holdings. In July, many digital asset funds saw a 57% increase in their XRP Exchange Traded Products (ETPs). Fineqia, for instance, saw its XRP AUM increase from $49 million to $76.8 million.
The price of the token appears to have weakened in momentum in recent weeks, much like the rest of the crypto market. At the time of writing, XRP is down by 0.60% in the last 24 hours and is trading at 0.625. Even so, the mood around XRP feels decidedly more optimistic as investors expect a final decision in the Ripple-SEC lawsuit.
Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s sale of XRP to the general public and its distributions of the token do not constitute an offer and sale of an investment contract.
These include “Programmatic sales,” where XRP was offered to public buyers, and “Other Distributions,” where people were given XRP for free.
The court concluded that the former does not satisfy the third prong of the Howey Test, as the public buyers could not have been aware of the various statements and marketing campaigns linking the token’s price performance to the company’s performance.
Meanwhile, the latter fails the Howey test as the receivers never put up any investment for the asset.
However, the court concluded that all XRP sales offered to institutional buyers did constitute an offer and sale of an investment contract as those buyers were “sophisticated” enough to understand the connection between XRP’s price and the company’s performance.
Furthermore, Ripple directly marketed and promoted the token to institutional buyers, and they had a reasonable expectation of profiting from their investments.
The post Judge rules Ripple’s XRP programmatic sales ‘not securities’; XRP up 28% appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has approved Ripple’s application for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) License in principle.
Commenting, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Singapore is “taking a pragmatic, innovation-first approach to crypto.” Also, Garlinghouse said he is proud that Ripple is one of only a few companies to have been granted an MPI License.
Ripple stated that its Asia-Pacific cross-border payment solutions, servicing businesses and financial institutions, had experienced massive growth in 2022. This expanded its Singapore base, doubling the staff to cope with demand.
Furthermore, the company commended the central bank’s innovative approach to fintech regulation, adding that the region is set to “reap the myriad benefits” of supporting digital asset technology while spearheading future global regulation. The statement signed off:
“This in-principle approval marks an important inflection point in the country’s positive and progressive adoption of digital assets, and Ripple looks forward to continued growth and expansion in Singapore and throughout the APAC region.”
The MAS operates three types of payment service provider licenses – Standard Payment Institution, Major Payment Institution, and Money-Changing.
The MPI License allows the holder to conduct business without being subject to thresholds on daily/monthly limits. The eligibility criteria include having a Singaporean-registered company or branch, a permanent place of business storing records, a minimum capital base of $250,000, and at least one director with Singapore residency or citizenship.
MAS also stated that the applicant’s track record, financial condition, and whether the company and related entities are already subject to “proper supervision by a competent regulatory authority” may also be considered.
The license approval comes when the ongoing U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) vs. Ripple lawsuit is close to final judgment.
The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020 over allegations of offering and raising $1.3 billion of unregistered securities through the XRP token.
XRP recorded a 5.7% swing on the June 22 daily candle to peak at $0.5272 – marking a seven-day high.
The post Singapore approves Ripple’s Major Payment Institution license application appeared first on CryptoSlate.
