In a scathing critique of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty has accused the regulatory body of deliberately suppressing the cryptocurrency market through their actions.
Alderoty took to Twitter to express his frustration, stating, “Turns out, the only ‘efforts of others’ that truly moved crypto markets—by causing massive and prolonged artificial suppression—were those of the SEC.”
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that the company violated securities laws by selling XRP without registering it as a security.
Turns out, the only ‘efforts of others’ that truly moved crypto markets—by causing massive and prolonged artificial suppression—were those of the SEC.
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) December 2, 2024
Under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC has also initiated legal action against other digital asset companies, such as Coinbase Global and Binance Holdings.
Despite Bitcoin being classified as a commodity, Gensler and the SEC argue that many other tokens are unregistered securities that should fall under their jurisdiction. Gensler’s impending departure in January has contributed to a recent surge in XRP’s price.
Following previous SEC litigation labeling certain digital assets as “unregistered securities,” tokens like ADA and SOL have experienced a boost in value due to positive sentiment.
XRP Breaks Records with Inflows
These remarks from Ripple’s chief legal officer coincide with XRP’s monumental $100 billion increase.
XRP recently surged to become the third-largest cryptocurrency after experiencing a $100 billion rally. The token saw a 20% spike on Monday, reaching a nearly seven-year high of $2.50, a level last seen in January 2018. This surge propelled its market value to $139 billion, up significantly from less than $30 billion in early November.
As of the latest data from CoinMarketCap, XRP has risen by 19% in the past 24 hours to reach $2.28. It currently holds the fourth spot in terms of market capitalization, valued at $130.29 billion.
According to a recent report from CoinShares, XRP saw record inflows of $95 million, possibly fueled by speculation surrounding a potential U.S. ETF for the token.
In a positive development, WisdomTree has officially filed an S-1 with the SEC for an XRP spot ETF, joining other firms like Bitwise, 21Shares, and Canary in seeking approval for a fund that tracks XRP’s daily price movements.