XRP issuer Ripple believes that financial institutions in the U.S. could leverage the company’s on-demand-liquidity solution for international trade and payments following last week’s partial victory against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I think the answer to that is yes.”, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty CNBC when asked whether banks would use Ripple’s ODL product after the ruling.
I think we’re hopeful that this decision would give financial institution customers or potential customers comfort to at least come in and start having the conversation about what problems they are experiencing in their business, real-world problems in terms of moving value across borders without incurring obscene fees,
The blockchain startup lost business after the SEC filed a lawsuit alleging that CEO Brad Garlinghouse and his company raised $1.3 billion through the sale of unregistered securities in 2020. Moneygram halted its partnership with Ripple in March 2021 due to uncertainty surrounding the case.
Before that, Bank of America paused a pilot program built on XRP technology started in 2019. The BOA said it was waiting for the outcome of the lawsuit before proceeding with any agreement.
SEC vs Ripple Summary Judgment
In December 2020, the SEC sued XRP creator Ripple Labs for allegedly raising $1.3 billion from unregistered securities sales.
Last week, Judge Analisa Torres issued a summary judgment siding with both parties on different fronts. According to the Southern District Court of New York Judge, the SEC’s claim that direct institutional sales of XRP constituted an investment contract and therefore qualified as illegal securities sales.
Judge Torres also sided with Ripple’s argument that programmatic sales to retail markets were not in violation of securities laws. The SEC could appeal the summary judgment which was requested by both parties and a trial on the matter is expected to follow after last week’s ruling.
Ripple’s XRP token recorded massive inflows, with daily trading volume skyrocketing to over $11 billion on July 14 from $600 million on July 13. XRP’s market price also jumped to $0.95 before traders took profits. The token traded at around $0.74 at press time.
Also, XRP is now crypto’s fourth largest token behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT. XRP’s market cap boasts $38 billion in USD.
