Ripple Ruling Lifts Regulatory Cloud, May End Crypto Winter

Ripple has come out victorious over the SEC, triggering a market surge not seen in a long time. The momentous win sees XRP become the first crypto with regulatory clarity and may be the catalyst to end the ongoing crypto winter. July 13, 2023, becomes a date that many investors and people interested in the crypto market will remember. Judge Analise Torres of the Southern District of New York handed a partial win over to Ripple Labs after its three-year-long battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Crypto Industry Gets a Win Amid Regulatory Crusades Per the ruling issued by Judge Torres, Ripple’s native $XRP token is “not necessarily a security on its face.” The decision declared that Ripple’s XRP sales on public crypto exchanges were not offers of securities because buyers did not have a reasonable expectation of profit tied to Ripple’s efforts, Reuters reports. In 2020, the SEC sued Ripple, alleging it violated US securities laws leading many exchanges, such as Coinbase and Kraken, to delist XRP. Judge Torres’ ruling sets a precedent for crypto regulation leading to a shift in market momentum. Shortly after the decision was made public, Bitcoin and altcoins surged to highs after what seemed to be a never-ending market slump after the FTX collapse. Bitcoin reached a one-year high, up more than 90% for the year and almost 30% in the past month. XRP, which may now be legally sold on public cryptocurrency exchanges, skyrocketed over 70% over the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinMarketCap, XRP was trading at $0.78 at the time of writing. 2023 has been plagued by a string of regulatory attacks on the industry, mostly from the SEC. The agency recently sued crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase and labelled several cryptocurrencies as securities and trading platforms, such as Robinhood, to delist the tokens. The SEC further took issue with recent Bitcoin spot ETF applications. The crypto market has largely fallen victim to negative press, leading to declining consumer confidence. Ripple’s win, however, may garner some positive momentum in the industry. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone brokerage in Melbourne, commented in an article published by Reuters: We'd gone through this long period of just consistently negative news to make the space look pretty grimy. For the first time in a while, it's been consistently positive news coming though and that means you've got momentum. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.