Category: Ripple

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Ripple

Ripple Plans To Go Public After Lawsuit Settlement

Despite its ongoing legal complications, Ripple (XRP) has big plans for its immediate future. Facing SEC allegations that it raised over 1 billion dollars through the sale of unregistered ongoing digital asset securities, the price of Ripple has fluctuated wildly as the merit of the case is assessed by the investment community. 

According to the SEC, other financial entities such as Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) do not qualify as a security as they are sufficiently decentralised. The SEC only regulates securities and not currencies or commodities, so the definition is all important.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is confident his company would be “on the leading” side of the impending crypto IPO boom during the Davos conference in January 2020. The market seems to agree with a bullish Ripple assessment, as evidenced by its strong recent growth.

XRP – 3 day chart

Ripple’s legal team continues to insist that it falls outside of the SEC’s charter and that the Federal case is “dead wrong.” With a strong legal defence team that is well resourced and funded, the market is betting that Ripple will prevail. The management team is then determined to press ahead with a public offering that will raise its profile and a significant pool of funds. 

The Coinbase IPO demonstrated the depth of investor appetite for exposure to the growing crypto sector, and Ripple seems determined to tap into this bullish sentiment. 

Jackson Byrne – Guest Writer

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Crypto News Ripple

SEC Accuses Ripple of “Harassment” For Trying to access Internal Records

On April 9, a judge granted Ripple executives access to various internal records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The records contain information about XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum, where the SEC classifies these three assets as “cryptocurrencies.”

Now the SEC accuses Ripple of “harassment,” for gaining access to the documents, claiming the defendants are not seeking relevant evidence but to “derail the case’s focus away from its merits.”

SEC Asks Judge To Block Access to Documents

The SEC sent a letter to judge Sarah Netburn on April 21, requesting limited access to the records. Lawyer Jeremy Hogan found a document in which the SEC refers to XRP as a “digital currency” in 2016.

The court order requires the SEC to search between tens of thousands of external emails of at least 19 custodians for documents related to XRP, BTC, and ETH. However, the SEC claims:

It has become evident through the meet-and-confer process that Defendants are seeking to ignore the limitations of this Court’s Order and to mire the SEC in indefinite discovery disputes and, if successful, document review.

Gary Gensler, MIT professor and crypto advocate, was announced as the new SEC Chairman. Many in the XRP community speculate that Gensler could withdraw the lawsuit, which could give XRP a dramatic boost in price.

On April 19, the XRP community filed a motion to intervene in the case. The file, which contains a Memorandum of Law, emphasizes that many US government agencies recognize XRP as a currency, and developers, businesses, and holders had to halt their work due to the delisting of the currency across exchanges, causing further price decrease.

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Crypto News Market Analysis Ripple Trading

XRP Surges Above $1 As Ripple Lawsuit Legal Win

Ripple XRP is trading in an uptrend like many other altcoins. The Cryptocurrency XRP just went up +72% in a week by breaking a Rising wedge pattern with strong buying volume and surges over +105% in a month.

What is XRP?

Ripple (XRP) is one of the fastest and most scalable digital assets, enabling real-time global payments anywhere in the world. The RippleNet payment platform is a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system that aims to enable instant monetary transactions globally. While XRP is the cryptocurrency native to the XRP Ledger, you can actually use any currency to transact on the platform.

XRP Price Analysis

At the time of writing, XRP has ranked the 4th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $1.25 AUD. This is a +72% increase since 1st April 2021 (7 days ago) as shown in the chart below.

Source: TradingView

For now, XRP/USDT has formed some solid bullish signs, not only on the lower timeframes but also on the 12-hour chart – possibly the origin for the suggested targets to reach within the upcoming schedule. XRP/USDT seems to bounce off the black line cluster: taking off from there might provide a great origin for upside targets to be reached.

The first resistance was on the $0.85 AUD price levels which XRP broke with a strong bullish trend buying volume and is now heading towards the next resistance price at $1.35 AUD. Seeing that many altcoins are holding strong this week, XRP will possibly continue the bullish trend.

Source: TradingView

What do the Technical indicators say?

The Ripple XRP TradingView indicators (on the 1 day) mainly indicate XRP as a buy, except the Oscillators which indicate XRP as a sell.

So why did XRP breakout?

General market sentiment seems to suggest many cryptos are in the middle of a bull run season, which could have contributed to the recent breakout. Another reason for this sudden pump in price could be whales secretly buying XRP for this Altcoins rally. It could also have contributed to some of the recent news regarding Ripple’s Letter regarding Motion to Seal with Proposed Redacted Exhibits.

The first redaction is an email between Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and an anonymous person about Rippleworks, the company’s non-profit VC arm. The second is between anonymous parties discussing the public perception of XRP and Ripple’s control of it.

Recent XRP News & Events:

Where to Buy or Trade XRP?

XRP has the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange so that would help for trading XRP/USDT or XRP/BTC pairs. However, if you’re just looking at buying some quick and hodling then Swyftx Exchange is a popular choice in Australia.

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Blockchain Payments Ripple

Ripple Buys 40% Of Leading APAC Payment Firm Tranglo

Ripple – already known for their (reportedly recently rocky) partnership with Moneygram – has announced that they will be buying a 40% stake in Tranglo, the leading payment solution in Southeast Asia.

Meeting Increased Demand

From this purchase, Ripple will be gaining a larger number of users to market their On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) XRP-based solution to. The purchase may also help Tranglo meet the needs of an ever-increasing market for quick money transfers.

 If Western Union, Moneygram and other companies whose business model relies on getting money around faster than banks have lost customers in Europe and elsewhere due to SEPA and companies like Revolut, this market does not show any signs of decreasing in the APAC region. In a highly-fragmented payment ecosystem without much international cooperation, banks have fallen far behind less traditional money transfer solutions.

Not only will Tranglo customers be able to use the ODL network in order to get their money faster – simultaneously increasing the XRP market cap – ODL users will also get access to Ripple’s Line of Credit service.

According to Ashhesh Birla – General Manager of RippleNet – Tranglo’s advanced customer service and well-developed payment infrastructure are what drew the firm’s attention.

Tranglo’s robust payments infrastructure coupled with their unparalleled customer service and quality makes them an ideal partner to support our expansion of On-Demand Liquidity starting with the Southeast Asia region. We are excited to continue and carry out our shared mission to transform cross-border transactions to be faster, cheaper and more secure with blockchain technology and digital assets.

Asheesh Birla, General Manager of RippleNet at Ripple

Coupled with the recent news that seems to indicate Ripple may be gaining the upper hand in their ongoing legal battle with the SEC, the future of Ripple appears to be looking brighter and brighter – and this may directly influence the future value of XRP tokens.

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Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Law Ripple

New Developments In SEC Case Possibly Lean In Favour Of Ripple

In a video published on YouTube by Attorney Jeremy Hogan – who, according to the video – attended the discovery hearing in the SEC vs Ripple case, the judges dropped some hints that they may be leaning in favour of Ripple.

Although no court documentation has been made available yet – and as a result, the conclusions drawn from the video must be approached with caution – Judge Sarah Netburn, who assists Primary Judge Analisa Torres in the current case, has made two comments in the court case that may show that Ripple already has the upper hand.

The Utility Of XRP Is Key

According to Attorney Hogan, Judge Netburn allegedly interrupted the ongoing debate to say that – as far as she can tell – XRP is not only an asset with monetary value but one with a specific utility that is not a store of value.

“My understanding about XRP is that not only does it have a currency value, but it has a utility and that utility distinguishes it from bitcoin and ether.”

 Later on, Judge Netburn also reportedly inquired whether, according to the SEC, all those who’ve sold XRP have sold illegal securities – to which the SEC attorney responded that according to Section 4 of the U.S. Securities Act, only Ripple and its affiliates could be accused of illegal sales.

Hogan himself weighed in on the proceedings, stating that since a currency and a security are fundamentally different.

“No matter what the SEC may try and argue, a currency and a security are, by definition, in opposite … These are two different things. […] If I’m Ripple, I’m feeling pretty good that my mediator and consulting summary judgement judge just said on the record what I essentially argued in my pleadings.”

In late January, Ripple issued a FOIA request demanding to know how Ethereum (and Ethereum’s treatment by the SEC) differs from XRP. According to these alleged statements, the difference seems to have been found in court. At the time, Ripple argued that XRP is not a security, and as such is outside of the SEC’s jurisdiction.

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Crypto News Institutions Ripple

Ripple Battles Against the SEC Over Access to Executive’s Financial History

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now trying to access the personal financial data of Ripple’s main executives: Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.

The SEC wants access to eight years of the executives’ financial data. This information is somehow related to the revenues of Ripple, according to the SEC. But both Larsen and Garlinghouse have stated that this data is irrelevant to the case.

Ripple Ask the Court to Block Access to the SEC

Ripple’s defence lawyers have submitted a letter to a federal judge, requesting to block access to the financial history of the executives. According to the letter, the institution has sent subpoenas (a formal written order) to six banks:

  • Silicon Valley Bank
  • Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  • Silvergate Bank
  • Citibank
  • Silver Lake Bank

Both executives have already produced the financial records relevant to the revenue streams that the SEC has requested.

As stated by the lawyers, the case is about the sale of unregistered securities over the years. But the SEC would be implementing a fraud case with no allegations and coherent motives whatsoever:

The SEC has nonetheless asserted that the Individual Defendants’ personal financial information is relevant to their “motive” to engage in the challenged conduct.

The SEC has not offered and cannot provide a coherent explanation for why it is entitled to this information.

Over the last few days, Ripple has faced several challenges since the case started. Likewise, the company also terminated its partnership with MoneyGram, a cross-border company that used Ripple’s ODL service for two years.

Ripple decided to call off its partnership soon after MoneyGram got sued by Rosen Law Firm. The lawyers submitted a case action on behalf of several investors over “misleading” statements regarding the use of Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service.

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Australia Bitcoin Ripple

Report By CPA Australia Singles Out XRP For CBDC Potential

A recent report commissioned by CPA Australia has singled out Ripple’s XRP as a good token on which to possibly build a CBDC.

The report takes a look at Bitcoin and Ethereum as well, and outlines why they are not as attractive a choice for a potential CBDC.

Volatility Not Welcome

The RBA has been see-sawing for a while on the issue of CBDCs – first researching them, then deciding that there is no reason to work on one before stating that they’re continuing their research anyway. In the meantime, other countries have also been carrying out CBDC-related research independently.

In the new report, CPA states that in their opinion, Bitcoin is far too volatile to ever host a CBDC – which should match the value of current legal tender.

“Despite it not being legal tender, Bitcoin is popular, and it is accepted as a medium of exchange in many places. Bitcoin’s price has been subject to spectacular volatility in recent years and this volatility has resulted in a lack of confidence in Bitcoin as a medium of exchange or as a store of value and raised concerns among central banks as to the viability of cryptocurrencies as CBDCs.”

The report goes on to state that although Ethereum is in a better spot due to its’ capability of hosting smart contracts and the like on its network, Ethereum is too decentralized to be able to be used safely by banks – however, it’s worth nothing that during the RBA’s CBDC experiments, tokens minted on the Ethereum blockchain were used.

CPA’s report appears to take a stance that greatly differs from that of the American SEC regarding Ripple. While the SEC claims that XRP’s more centralized nature could lead to it being more of a security than Ethereum, CPA states that this very centralization makes it a much more viable too for the creation of a CBDC.

CPA are not the only ones to claim that the nature of Ripple could spur on the creation of CBDCs – Banque de France reportedly believes the same thing, as pointed out in the report.

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Crypto News Ripple

Ripple Calls-off its Partnership With MoneyGram

Ripple Calls-off its Partnership With MoneyGram

Ripple, the blockchain payment behind the XRP cryptocurrency, is officially terminating its multi-year partnership with MoneyGram, a global leader in cross-border P2P payments and money transfers. Ripple noted in the announcement on Tuesday, and the primary reason behind the decision remains unknown.

Ripple, MoneyGram Agrees to end Their Partnership

As the announcement reads, both companies took the decision to terminate their current partnership agreements, which were established back in June 2019. At the time, the blockchain payment company reportedly acquired a US$30 million stake in MoneyGram. Under the partnership, MoneyGram was incentivized to use Ripple’s product for cross-border payment and foreign exchange settlement.

However, MoneyGram did mention last year that it doesn’t use the “ODL platform or RippleNet for direct transfers of consumer funds – digital or otherwise.” Although Ripple didn’t specify the reason the partnership is being terminated, it’s worth noting that MoneyGram recently stopped trading on Ripple’s platform amid the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges against Ripple.

Also, Crypto News Australia reported that MoneyGram was hit with a class-action lawsuit for making a false statement regarding its partnership with Ripple.

Ripple Might Revisit its Terms with MoneyGram

The blockchain company also mentioned in the announcement that it might revisit its partnership with MoneyGram in the future. Within a few months of the partnership, both companies achieved and processed lots of transactions, as Ripple admitted:

“We are proud of the work we were able to accomplish in a short amount of time, as well as the impact we were able to achieve in bringing this first-of-its-kind product to market. Together, we processed billions of dollars through RippleNet and On-Demand Liquidity (ODL).”

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Crypto News Institutions Ripple

Ripple to Provide Blockchain Support for Central Banks Issuing CBDCs

Ripple is moving forward with a new private version of its XRP ledger to provide support for Central Banks issuing CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency). The new ledger will be based on the same blockchain that powers XRP.

80% of Banks Seeking Blockchain Technology

While the battle with the Securities and Exchange Command (SEC) continues, Ripple will conduct a pilot of this new private network to provide Central Banks with effective and flexible solutions for the issuance and management of their digital currencies.

The company stated that as cryptocurrencies move forward into the mainstream and more institutions are digital assets, over 80% of Central Banks are desperate to issue their own CBDCs.

This also means that more banks are considering using blockchain technology for their ecosystem, thus moving on and embracing the advantages (and challenges) of digital assets.

Hundreds of Thousands of TPS for Banks

This new private ledger will be tested to handle tens of thousands of TPS (Transactions per Second), and eliminating the tedious delay usually inherent to wire transfers. The network is expected to potentially scale to hundreds of thousands of TPS in the future —while maintaining speed and low fees. Some key features that the ledger will provide are:

  • 61,000 times more efficiency compared to PoW (Proof-of-work) blockchains.
  • Same protocol verification system used by the XRP ledger.
  • Less energy-intensive
  • High scalability, up to tens of thousands of CBDC transactions and possibly hundreds of thousands in the future. 

A New Network For Banks

Ripple is also exploring a new way to bring institutions into a more DeFi (Decentralised Finance)-style ecosystem. The company is planning to bring together all CBDC ledgers into a single network, enabling interoperability with full technological and financial independence.

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Ripple

Investors Suing MoneyGram Over Misleading Partnership With Ripple

It seems like lawsuits are a never-ending topic when it comes to Ripple. Now, MoneyGram —a financial services company, is facing a lawsuit over “misleading” statements about its partnership with Ripple.

Shady Allegations over Ripple’s ODL service

Rosen Law Firm, A major U.S.-based legal firm is now suing MoneyGram on behalf of investors over shady and misleading statements about the use of ODL —On-Demand Liquidity—, a service that leverages XRP as a bridge between two currencies.

In 2019, MoneyGram announced a strategic partnership with Ripple, using its cross-border payment system. But as soon as the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple, MoneyGram stated that it doesn’t use Ripple’s ODL service:

MoneyGram is not dependent on the Ripple platform to accomplish its FX trading needs. As a reminder, MoneyGram does not utilize the ODL platform or RippleNet for direct transfers of consumer funds – digital or otherwise. Furthermore, MoneyGram is not a party to the SEC action. 

Rosen Law Calling in As Many Investors as they Can

According to the press release, MoneyGram failed to disclose that XRP —used by the company as part of its partnership with Ripple— was viewed as an unregistered security, instead of a cryptocurrency.

This means that if the SEC applies security laws against Ripple, MoneyGram loses market development fees, vital to their financial results. Thus, making MoneyGram statements about the use of ODL as false or misleading.

The company added that when “the true details entered the market” —when the SEC filed against Ripple— investors suffered several damages. Likewise, Rosen Law Firms is encouraging any investors with losses over $100,000 to join the class action before April 30.