XRP's price shot up 26% recently. This happened as Ripple's lawsuit with the SEC seemed to be wrapping up. It's just a $125 million fine, not a billion case, as it turns out. And, what's even more important, there's no indication XRP will be labeled a security. A turning point for crypto industry.
A New York federal judge is close to ending a three-year securities lawsuit against Ripple Labs. Ripple's bigwigs are calling this a "win" for the industry. And nobody blames them, obviously. The news sent XRP's price through the roof. And that is a clear win, beyond any doubt.
The judge ordered Ripple to cough up $125 million in civil penalties. They also said Ripple can't break U.S. securities laws anymore. This is part of the SEC's case against them.
Cointelegraph says this ruling looks like the final stretch of Ripple's SEC drama. The lawsuit kicked off back in December 2020. It's been a long haul.
When the news hit, XRP went nuts. It jumped 26% to $0.63. This erased most of its losses from the recent crypto slump. CoinMarketCap data backs this up.
As I'm typing this, XRP is trading at $0.59. The market's still buzzing.
Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, didn't mince words on X. He called it "a victory for Ripple, the industry and the rule of law." He reckons the SEC's beef with the XRP community is over.
Chris Larsen, Ripple's co-founder, chimed in too. He hopes this "ends this Administration's war on crypto." Strong words from the top brass.
But it wasn't just Ripple execs making noise. Crypto folks were all over XRP's price action.
Fred Rispoli, a crypto lawyer, tweeted his two cents. He said it's a "HUGE win for Ripple." He was surprised by the $125M hit but noted Ripple made that back in minutes from XRP's price jump.
The price surge caught some traders with their pants down. It wiped out 40% more short positions than long ones in just four hours. Ouch.
CoinGlass data shows $5.4 million worth of short positions went up in smoke after the price spike. That's gotta hurt.
If XRP keeps climbing and hits $0.65, another $20 million in short positions could go belly up. The crypto market's a wild ride, folks.