Becomes the third-largest cryptocurrency
According to Odaily, XRP recently surpassed USDT in market cap, reclaiming its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency. This development marks a return to its status prior to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple. In June 2018, prior to William Hinman’s landmark speech, the SEC deemed Bitcoin and Ethereum non-securities due to their “sufficient decentralization.” At the time, XRP was the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, behind only Ethereum.
After Hinman’s speech, Ethereum’s market cap surpassed that of XRP by November 2018. The Ripple case has brought to light the so-called “Hinman emails,” which reveal that some SEC officials had differing views on the content of the speech. These officials expressed concerns that the speech could impact the regulatory status of other cryptocurrencies. Six years later, the regulatory status of many cryptocurrencies remains uncertain.