Ripple ends 2021 on a strong note by establishing itself in the east despite the ongoing lawsuit in the US against the Securities & Exchange Commission.
XRP price burned brightly in the first half of 2021 but its momentum appears to have vanished in the second half.
Regardless of the lackluster performance, Ripple and its native token XRP have a bright future ahead of them in 2022.
The cryptocurrency industry flourished in 2021 after going through a grueling year in 2020. The recovery has been nothing short of a miracle, as Bitcoin and many other cryptos hit a new all-time high. The adoption of digital assets, be it in the DeFi, NFTs or Metaverse market, has gone through the roof.
Unlike previous years, where the institutional involvement was meager, 2021 has seen major companies align with the burgeoning ecosystem of cryptocurrencies .
Ripple, in particular, carried its burdens from the last year but has surprisingly risen through it and made an amazing headway. While XRP price managed to surge spectacularly in the first half of 2021, the second half saw its momentum dwindle and volatility dry. Still, 2022 is likely to see Ripple and XRP burn brightly and flourish. Ripple and its arduous journey in 2021
SEC v. Ripple
The US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple on December 22, 2020, for allegedly selling unregistered securities within the nation. The $1.3 billion lawsuit came as a shock to XRP holders and the community, considering the closed-door meetings the blockchain startup had with multiple local regulators over the years.
More importantly, it set a precedent in the ecosystem given the lack of regulatory clarity.
After almost a year of back-and-forths, there does not appear to be any type of conclusion. The case is stuck at a point where Ripple asked the SEC to submit documents that detail the regulatory body’s discussion or reasoning that went into classifying Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities.
The defendants argue that these documents reveal the contradictory nature of the SEC’s decision-making, which could help prove that authorities did not provide Ripple with a fair notice about XRP being considered a security. However, the plaintiff argues that such crucial documents are protected by Deliberative Process Privilege (DPP).
Judge Sarah Netburn performed an in-camera review of these documents to confirm the authorities’ claims, but the process has not reached a conclusion and both the SEC and Ripple were asked to re-brief.
There is a high probability that the lawsuit spills over to next year, here’s what one can expect going forward. SEC wins
If the SEC wins the lawsuit against Ripple, it will set the precedent for years to come and give the regulatory agency power to control and regulate cryptocurrency projects with a short leash.
While it might stifle innovation, there could also be a sense of clarity and a set of guidelines that upcoming projects can follow to prevent falling under the watchful eye of regulators.
Ripple would then have to pay a hefty fine and focus its business anywhere but the west. This scenario might also cause other European countries to follow the same path, which will leave the firm with slightly less ground to cover.
XRP price could take a massive hit, but it would likely be short-lived.
The SEC might not sit back after the win and might focus on Ethereum as many speculators believe.
Expanding his thoughts on the possibility of ETH being the next target, John Deaton, the court-appointed Amicus Curiae, stated, There’s a reason Gensler won’t comment on whether he believes #Ether is a security. It’s because he wants the option of going after them. What’s crazy ironic, is that, with Gensler at the helm, the lawsuit could ultimately give Ripple and XRP an advantage moving forward. Ripple wins If Ripple wins the lawsuit against the SEC, it would likely put the federal agency on a backfoot, which could also denote a paradigm shift in securities laws for cryptocurrencies. Although the potential win could put Ripple in a safe place, existing and upcoming projects might still lack clarity. Regulators would have to think twice before taking on other huge projects like Ripple. XRP price could see a massive boost and set a new record higher. Raol Paul, the former Head of European Hedge Fund Sales, said that his investment in XRP after the lawsuit in December has “no-brainer” risk-to-reward statistics.Paul added, It got heavily discounted in the price, and then I looked at it and thought, ‘Well, what’s […]
source Ripple Price Forecast 2022: XRP to see double-digit price and reduced regulatory uncertainty
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