US Securities and Exchange Commission prepared to withdraw all demands on Ripple (XRP)

Ripple (XRP) may go free of any demand for fines or further lawsuits from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Ripple project awaits a final verdict, as XRP sheds the final doubts of being seen as an unregistered security. 

Ripple (XRP) awaited a final settlement with the US SEC, to be completed by July 18. The dropping of all charges may lift the expectation of further fines, or additional lawsuits. The scope of the years-long investigation by the SEC covered the early years of Ripple, when the XRP asset was sold to investors in a way that sparked doubts of breaking securities law.

The US SEC has taken up multiple investigations against crypto projects, and ended up with a mix of fines or favorable verdicts for most. Recently, the SEC also dropped the investigation into the Hiro project, formerly Blockstacks. In July, the SEC also stopped its probe into the issuer of stablecoins, Paxos. 

Also Read: Ripple withdraws its stakes from Bitstamp and Tranglo, fails to give reasons

The SEC has invited representatives of Ripple to a meeting with a focus on the settlement of actions and procedures. The SEC investigation coincided with one of the biggest drops in trading and overall interest in XRP. Conversely, the SEC’s favorable decision on the status of Ethereum led to trading growth and the launch of several ETF products. 

Until recently, Ripple’s XRP still drifted sideways on insecurity about further lawsuits. This kept the XRP price pressured under $0.40. Expectations of the resolution added to the recent XRP rally, which took the asset above $0.60. Now, the market awaits the full effects of XRP activity, whether from crypto insiders or from traditional finance.

For now, XRP seems to have consumed the rumor of the settlement. After the announcement of the SEC meeting, XRP sank again to $0.57, though trading volumes recovered to $3.9B. XRP traded with the biggest activity for the past three months, not seen since its March rally. 

For now, XRP remains supported by its most loyal proponents and ambassadors. A limited liquidity market leads to skepticism of older altcoins, especially after XRP traded sideways for years. 

XRP fights for status once again

XRP now faces the need to re-establish its reputation in a different market. Chart analysts often present the years-long slide as a sign of an upcoming breakout . But XRP is too technologically different and disconnected from the crypto world of 2024. The project has missed most of DeFi development, lagging at only 4.8M wallets.

Recently, high-profile commenter Crypto Bitlord mentioned XRP, adding to the hype from the past week. If the current rally continues, some expect XRP to revisit levels above $1.30. 

Also Read: XRP price prediction 2024-2030: Is $1 coming soon?

The project now aims to present more use cases, to compete with other well-established chains. In the short term, however, the big expectation is for a price breakout, to prove that XRP is not a dead coin. 

One of the possible moves for XRP would be to rally while being forgotten and even largely unknown to new crypto traders. One of the predictions of Crypto Bitlord also sees XRP move to the top in terms of market capitalization, gaining immense visibility. The removal of all charges and expectations may open the door to owning and trading XRP with no fears of further investigations.

Ripple brings tokenization to the table

One of the key aspects where Ripple’s network loses is the lack of tokenization options. Ripple may be arriving late to the game, as almost all chains have set up tools for extremely easy token generation. 

However, Ripple’s approach is still at a very early stage, taking a detailed, academic view of tokenization. Ripple has issued a new whitepaper on real world asset tokenization, one of the hottest narratives for crypto platforms. 

Ripple itself has not proposed the technology, and will have no way to join the trend for token creation. For now, XRP remains the sole asset with limited utility. For long-term holders, XRP offers staking options, while also promising XRP may be one day needed for interbank transfers and burned in the process. But for that task, the Ripple Foundation’s reserves still lie untouched. 

Cryptopolitan reporting by Hristina Vasileva