On Saturday, November 16, XRP token prices exceeded the psychological threshold of $1 for the first time since December 2021. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.02, up 83.8% over the past week.
According to CoinGecko, the cryptocurrency's capitalization has reached $58 billion.
The asset is showing the greatest sensitivity to news about the possible departure of Gary Gensler as head of the SEC due to the long-standing litigation between Ripple and the regulator. The reason was the official's statement, in which many saw preparation for such a scenario.
In December 2020, the SEC charged Ripple with selling $1.3 billion in unregistered securities in the form of XRP. CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen were also named as defendants in the case.
In July 2023, the court ruled that programmatic sales and other distributions of Ripple's coin did not constitute the offer and exercise of investment contracts. However, according to the ruling, the sale of tokens to large players violated U.S. securities laws.
The court rejected the SEC's interlocutory appeal, finding that it lacked sufficient evidence and that its consideration would not "substantially advance the ultimate dismissal of the case."
The Commission subsequently withdrew the suit against Garlinghouse and Larsen. The parties reached a settlement agreement, which precluded further prosecution on the same grounds.
In August 2024, the court issued a final decision on the case, fining Ripple $125 million. The regulator initially demanded $2 billion. In October, the SEC challenged the verdict.
Let us recall that Garlinghouse expressed confidence in the “reboot” of the crypto industry after the presidential elections in the United States.
Earlier, 21Shares and Canary Capital filed applications with the SEC to register spot XRP ETFs.
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