XRP, the SEC and the Very Bad, No Good, 3-Year-Long Fist Fight

TL;DR

• ICYMI: The SEC is claiming that the XRP token is a security (think: a stock) and should be regulated as such. Ripple begs to differ.

• It's a big deal! Because if the SEC can prove this with XRP, they'll use the legal precedent to rip through the US crypto industry.

• A transcript from a speech made by former SEC Director William Hinman in 2018 was just made public, which has affected the public's perception of the case.

• Hinman didn't consider ETH a security, suggesting Ethereum (and, perhaps, tokens like it) should not be regulated by the SEC.

• As a result, a whole bunch of speculators bought into XRP - pushing the price up 6% (or about $1.5B) in a matter of hours, before tumbling back down.

Full Story

What's the longest fist fight you've ever witnessed?

For us, it's one that started in 2020, between Ripple (XRP) and the SEC.

ICYMI: The SEC is claiming that the XRP token is a security (think: a stock) and should be regulated as such. Ripple begs to differ.

It's a big deal! Because if the SEC can prove this with XRP, they'll use the legal precedent to rip through the US crypto industry.

And just yesterday, there was a massive revelation in the case.

...or at least, a massive revelation, that has affected the public's perception of the case.

Here's what happened:

Former SEC Director William Hinman gave a speech back in 2018 - the contents of which the SEC has tried really hard to suppress.

In the speech, Hinman explicitly outlined the following:

“Based on my understanding of the present state of Ether, the Ethereum network and its ​decentralized​ structure, current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions.”

Translation: Hinman didn't consider ETH a security, suggesting Ethereum (and, perhaps, tokens like it) should not be regulated by the SEC.

The dots everyone in the crypto community then connected were:

Hinman didn't feel the need to regulate ETH → this weakens the SEC's case against Ripple → if Ripple wins, the XRP token will likely shoot up in value.

As a result of these assumptions, a whole bunch of speculators bought into XRP - pushing the price up 6% (or about $1.5B) in a matter of hours.

The bad news? What goes up, must come down:

Yikes! Stay safe out there ya'll.