Ripple 'pulls an Anakin Skywalker'

Article source, here.

TL;DR

• Ripple, creators of the XRP token, has been fighting the SEC in court for a while now. The SEC claims that XRP is an unregistered security and wants to shut it down.

• Neither side is prepared to settle outside of court, which means whatever is decided will become law by precedent.

• Many see Ripple's actions as: 'fighting unfair government control over cryptocurrencies.'

• But Ripple just announced that they're releasing a proprietary platform for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which will let central banks create their own digital currencies.

• Which has a bunch of folks in the blockchain industry 'pulling an Obi-Wan' and shouting: 'You were meant to fight unfair government control of cryptocurrencies, not enable it!'

Full Story

You know that frequently quoted line from Star Wars Episode III, where Obi-Wan is  talking Anakin's ear off  next to a river of lava?

The one that goes: "It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!"

Yeah. Similar vibes with this story.

So, in case you missed it: Ripple, creators of the XRP token, has been fighting the SEC in court for a while now.

The recap is this:

The SEC claims that XRP is an unregistered security and wants to shut it down. Ripple begs to differ. Neither side is prepared to settle outside of court, which means whatever is decided will become law by precedent.

The key takeaway being:

The result will have a large effect on the US  blockchain  industry either way.

So it should come as no surprise that the entire crypto industry is in Ripple's corner, cheering them on.

Many see Ripple's actions as: 'fighting unfair government control over cryptocurrencies.'

But get this!

Ripple just announced that they're releasing a proprietary platform for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which will enable central banks, governments, and financial institutions to create their own digital currencies.

I.e. allow governments to create/release programmable money.

...money that can be switched off, blocked from certain uses/purchase, and generally manipulated in a whole new way.

(Ready for the call back? Here it comes...)

Which has a bunch of folks in the blockchain industry 'pulling an Obi-Wan' and shouting:

'You were meant to fight unfair government control of cryptocurrencies, not enable it!'

Boom! Stuck the landing!

Happy Friday ya'll.