Ripple has had a bumpy road, especially after former Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton filed a lawsuit against the company. Ripple Labs Inc. was accused to have raised more than $1.3 billion by selling and distributing XRP without registering. This lawsuit is trying to confirm some unspecified damages and also to forbid Ripple’s executives to engage in digital currency markets.
On April 12, Gary Gensler, who thinks cryptocurrencies are “a catalyst for change”, is expected to be confirmed as the new SEC Chairman by the US Senate. This could have a positive impact on Ripple’s future.
Back in 2018, he stated: “You could use blockchain but you need a bridge currency in between and that bridge could be a stable value that’s backed by the US dollar or the Euro or it could be a currency like Ripple has as an alternative.”
Another positive news for Ripple is the fact that the judge just granted XRP holders the motion to intervene and join the company in fighting the SEC lawsuit as a third party.
Attorney John Deaton was given the opportunity to file a motion and intervene on behalf of XRP holders, ruled by Judge Analisa Torres. Deaton has tried to represent XRP holders two times during the trial, but the motions were denied. These holders pretend their rights are not being considered and that the SEC’s lawsuit has decreased the cryptocurrency’s value by over $15 billion.
What will happen to Ripple?
Exchanges are currently discussing the possibility of relisting XRP in their platforms since SEC’s lawyers implied that only Ripple and Ripple’s affiliates may have sold XRP illegally. The company in fact declared that they have been talking to several exchanges and things are expected to change.
Ripple published last week a white paper that talks about the future of central bank digital currencies. According to this report, XRP, Ripple’s cryptocurrency, is a neutral bridge for CBDCs. (Read the article here)
The network is also trying to set a foot in Asia by taking 40% stakes in Tranglo, a cross-border payment solutions company. Tranglo’s ecosystem will keep on supporting existing payment passages and will guarantee RippleNet customers in several countries to utilize the company’s On-Demand Liquidity service.
“RippleNet customers using ODL will also be able to leverage Ripple’s Line of Credit to free up working capital and scale cross-border payments into more markets than ever before” the company stated.
