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Ripple CEO Says SEC Lost Battle on Crypto Amid Third Company Filing for XRP ETF
- 21Shares has applied to list an XRP ETF on Cboe, following Bitwise and Canary, to provide exposure to XRP.
- Amid these tensions, Ripple’s CEO criticises the SEC’s actions as damaging to the agency’s credibility while a court recently ruled XRP is not a security.
- Ripple has prepared for a cross-appeal by escrowing US$125 million, as analysts speculate on future outcomes for crypto regulations.
And suddenly there’s three. 21Shares has just filed for a Spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF), following the applications of Bitwise and Canary earlier. The fund, named ‘21Shares Core XRP Trust’, would be listed on Cboe, offering indirect exposure to the seventh largest crypto asset.
Filing Comes Amid SEC’s Continued Battle with Ripple
The filings come at an interesting time. The company behind XRP, Ripple, is still in legal proceedings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The agency is appealing an earlier court decision where it had argued that XRP was sold as an unregistered security.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called out the SEC’s approach to crypto, saying the regulator had taken loss after loss, continuing to damage its own image.
The SEC’s war on crypto has lost battle after battle – their continued disregard for the court’s authority will further erode the SEC’s credibility and reputation.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO Some analysts have argued that no other crypto ETF will be approved for a while if Donald Trump loses the election. Trump had promised to sack SEC Chief Gary Gensler immediately following an election win.
Ripple Q.3 Markets Report Claims Lawsuit No Threat to XRP Status
Ripple released its third-quarter report over the weekend, which was heavily focused on the lawsuit. The report states that “XRP’s status as not a security remains the law of the land”.
The report also highlights that due to the court’s decision, the only two cryptocurrencies with legal clarity are XRP and Bitcoin, and that “since the ruling, every U.S. exchange that delisted XRP has relisted it”.
With the court’s decision in the SEC’s case against Ripple affirming that XRP is not, in and of itself, a security, XRP and BTC are still the only two tokens with regulatory clarity in the U.S.
Ripple Ripple had been ordered to pay US$125 million (AU$189.7 million) for historic unregistered sales of XRP, significantly less than the US$2 billion (AU$3 billion) sought by the SEC, with no findings of fraud or financial harm.
Related: Reddit Reverses Crypto Strategy, Sells Off BTC and ETH Held for Treasury
In response to the SEC’s appeal of a ruling that certain XRP distributions were securities, Ripple has escrowed the required funds and is preparing for a cross-appeal, the report added.
Considering that the parties are appealing the Court’s order, Ripple placed the $125 million allocated for remedies in an escrow account.
Ripple The price of XRP has not responded well to the recent development, dropping 2.7% over the past week, despite the reassuring news about the ETFs.
Author
Aaron Feuerstein
Aaron Feuerstein is a freelance writer based in Melbourne. His focus is on decentralised finance and the regulatory space surrounding blockchain. He holds a Master's in Accounting. When he is not studying the latest legal case, he enjoys his time as a modest but eager hobby cook.
