XRP, the cryptocurrency that powers the XRP Ledger, a layer-1 blockchain protocol, has reversed lower following an earlier pump to fresh multi-month highs in the $0.565 area.
The cryptocurrency, which ranks as the world’s sixth largest with a market capitalization of around $26.5 billion, was last changing hands just under $0.51, now down more than 3% having previously been trading as much as 7.5% up on the day.
The catalyst for XRP’s spike earlier in the day was the release by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of documents relating to an infamous speech made by the agency’s former director of its Division of Corporation Finance William Hinman.
In that speech, Hinman said that, in his view, he did not see a need to regulate Ether as a security.
The documents, which show how officials at the SEC deliberated over what to say in the speech ahead of its delivery, have been touted as boosting Ripple’s case in its lawsuit with the SEC.
The SEC accused Ripple back in December 2020 of issuing XRP as an unregistered security and the two have been engaged in a fierce legal battle ever since.
According to Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, the documents show that “Hinman ignored multiple warnings that his speech contained made-up analysis with no basis in law, was divorced from the Howey factors, exposed regulatory gaps, and would create not just confusion, but “greater confusion” in the market”.
“Hinman’s speech should never again be invoked in any serious discussion about whether a token is or is not a security,” Alderoty added.
“Unelected bureaucrats must faithfully apply the law within the constraints of their jurisdiction... They can’t - as Hinman tried - create new law”.
XRP’s latest pullback means it is now
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