Ripple has been making great strides in Asia and Europe, but most powerhouse financial institutions in the US remain reluctant to link their names with the cryptocurrency firm as its courtroom showdown with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stretches. Recently, a Fox Business reporter denied BlackRock’s involvement with the development of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The SEC v Ripple Courtroom Drama
The SEC v Ripple saga drags on as the regulator filed a Motion to Compel against the opposition. This is in relation to the latter’s alleged continuous breach of security laws even after the case was already ongoing.
Previously, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s sale of XRP to retail customers didn’t equate to an offer or sale of investment contracts. However, this only came as a partial victory in favor of the crypto firm as the judiciary sided with the SEC in the determination as to whether or not the company’s sale of the token to institutional clients constituted a sale of securities.
The latest motion requires Ripple to address the inquiries of the SEC regarding the institutional sales proceeds of XRP from 2022 to 2023 through the submission of its financial statements covering the said periods. The respondent is opposing it on the grounds that it is untimely and irrelevant to the case.
Elsewhere, Ripple seems to be in the good graces with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Central Bank of Ireland. Last year, the company was approved to operate as a crypto payment services provider in their respective jurisdictions.
BlackRock’s XRP ETF
In light of the latest developments in the SEC v Ripple case, Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino claimed BlackRock currently has no plans to offer a spot XRP ETF. This is despite the company’s CEO, Larry Fink, showing interest in a spot Ethereum ETF earlier.
Gasparino, however, is only citing “people with direct knowledge of the matter” as his primary sources. Neither BlackRock nor Ripple have made any statements in relation to his report yet. Of course, this lack of attribution left people questioning the legitimacy of the journalist’s remarks.
Yup, this definitely smells like a “trust me bro” reply.
XRP Now
XRP struggles to maintain its position above $0.52 as of this writing at 2:00 AM UTC. Right now, it’s down by 3% on the 24-hour chart with the price at $0.5263.
During this period, the crypto moved between a low of $0.5219 and a high of $0.5476 while trading volume jumped by over 116% as more than $1.14 billion worth of the digital asset moved between wallet addresses.