Settlement Speculation Pushes XRP to Front of Crypto Rally

(Bloomberg) — A little-known cryptocurrency that is at the center of a key legal fight for the industry is leading the latest rally in digital assets amid speculation that the company behind it may soon reach a settlement with US regulators.

XRP has jumped almost 40% in the past week to around 60 cents, while market bellwether is up around 12% during the same period. Cryptocurrencies have rallied in part this week on expectations that Donald Trump will be more amiable to the sector if he wins the US presidential election. 

“I can’t comment on that specifically,” Ripple Labs Chief Executive Officer Brad Garlinghouse said Wednesday during an interview on Bloomberg Television, when asked about possible settlement talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“Suffice to say, that the ruling has been clear from the judge,” Garlinghouse said. “We expect resolution very soon, but can’t predict when the judge will rule there.”       

The SEC sued Ripple Labs in 2020, claiming the firm broke its rules when it raised money by selling the digital token without registering it as a security. The case is being closely watched because of its implications for the scope of the SEC’s turf. In what’s been seen by many as a loss for the agency’s jurisdiction, a US District Judge ruled last July that sales of XRP to retail investors on exchanges didn’t amount to investment contracts. 

Helping to fuel the conjecture among crypto advocates on social media is the listing of a “closed meeting” scheduled on the SEC’s website for July 18. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment.

“Investors and traders are anticipating there will be a conclusion about the status of XRP tokens,” said Zaheer Ebtikar, founder of crypto fund Split Capital.“The entirety about XRP is anything attached to what the regulations will be.“

Ripple Labs recently disclosed in a filling that it donated $1 million to a new super political action committee to help unseat anti-crypto Senator Elizabeth Warren and support John Deaton as Massachusetts’ next senator.

XRP is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency, with a market value of around $34 billion, according to data compiled by CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin is valued at about $1.3 trillion, accounting for about 50% of the crypto market, CoinMarketCap says.

–With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch, Olga Kharif, Romaine Bostick and Alix Steel.

(Adds comments from Ripple CEO’s in the third paragraph.)

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