Crypto Morning Briefing: White House Wants Crypto Miners To Pay 30% Climate Change Tax
Blur NFT Lending Surpasses $16M in Loans, Led by Matchi Big Brother; Gemini Launches Derivative Platform in 30 Countries; Coinbase Will Never Delist ETH as XRP, Top Lawyer States Why
Ripple Lawyer Claims SEC Is ‘Exploiting Legal Uncertainty’ To Redefine Securities Laws
CryptoLaw founder and Ripple lawyer John Deaton said the SEC is “exploiting the legal uncertainty about crypto” to redefine what should be considered a security under the Howey test.
Coinbase Will Never Delist ETH as XRP, Top Lawyer States Why
Bill Morgan, a former SEC and securities attorney, believes Coinbase can never treat Ether (ETH) and/or Bitcoin (BTC) the same way it dealt with XRP when the U.S. SEC sued Ripple, claiming that the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is a security.
Ripple CTO Clarifies XRP Ledger's Decentralization Amid Claims of Centralization
David Schwartz, the chief technology officer at Ripple, has clarified that the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is a decentralized network, refuting claims made by Justin Bons, the founder of Cyber Capital, that the XRPL is not decentralized. Bons claimed that the XRPL is established on the concepts of permissioned nodes and does not depend on any popular decentralized blockchain consensus algorithms.
Ripple Returns 700 Million XRP Tokens to Escrow After Releasing 1 Billion for Liquidity Demands
Ripple has returned 700 million XRP tokens to escrow shortly after releasing 1 billion tokens to address liquidity demands for May. The recently locked XRP tokens are part of the 1 billion coins previously released from the Ripple escrow wallets. Ripple's practice of releasing and locking back XRP tokens every month is not uncommon.
Ripple, Stellar, and IOTA Poised to Tap Trillion-Dollar Market for Low-Value Cross-Border Payments
The US Federal Reserve is yet to make a move towards the upcoming ISO 2022 Regulation, but Ripple, Stellar, and IOTA are already on their way to dominate the trillion-dollar market for low-value cross-border payments. These payments are crucial for global financial inclusion and commercial aspects. Global collaboration can prioritize financial inclusiveness and introduce reliability, efficiency, and higher speed for low-value cross-border transitions.
Ripple Escrow Unlocked; XRP Price To Take A Hit?
Ripple Labs and its native crypto, XRP holders are eagerly waiting for a Summary Judgement in the lawsuit launched by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, as the judgment day closes in, Ripple has released more XRP into the market circulation.
Bhutan Quietly Operates Bitcoin Mining Operation Powered by Hydroelectric Resources
Bhutan, the small kingdom known for measuring Gross National Happiness, has reportedly been operating a Bitcoin mining operation using its abundant hydroelectric resources. According to Forbes, Bhutan started developing state-run mining operations in 2020 to use the country's hydroelectric plants to power Bitcoin mining machines, which solve complex mathematical problems to earn Bitcoin rewards.
YouTube Helps Recover Hacked Channel That Attempted XRP Crypto Scams
Prominent YouTuber DidYouKnowGaming was able to regain access to his YouTube channel, which an anonymous bad actor hacked to promote XRP (XRP) cryptocurrency scams. D
Former SEC Lawyer Admits To Agency’s Wrongdoing In XRP Lawsuit
John Reed Stark, who had worked as a lawyer in the SEC’s enforcement division for a long time, admitted that the SEC’s actions in the XRP lawsuit led to investors losing in billions of dollars. He expressed his stance on crypto saying these tokens fail to fit in the criteria for both investment and currency, adding that fraudulent activities are deeply rooted in the ecosystem, However, he agreed that investors lost great deal due to the SEC’s actions in the Ripple lawsuit. When asked about the SEC’s actions leading to wiping billions off the market cap of XRP, he admitted that it’s a fair point.
Coinbase Decision to Delist XRP Weakens its Wells Notice Argument, Says Top Lawyer
Bill Morgan, an Australian-based pro-XRP lawyer, has joined other crypto community members to react to news of Coinbase’s response to last month’s Wells Notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ripple Shares Update on SEC Lawsuit, Predicts New End Date
Ripple Labs provided an update on the SEC lawsuit, which has been on for more than two years. It emphasized the March 6, 2023, order issued by Judge Analisa Torres. The order decided which SEC’s and Ripple’s expert opinions the court might consider in summary judgment.
Ripple Sold $336M Worth of XRP Tokens in Q1; Reports Strong XRPL Growth
Blockchain company Ripple has reported selling over $361 million worth of XRP tokens in Q1 of 2021. This is an increase from the previous quarter's sales of $226.31 million. The sales were related to Ripple's on-demand liquidity product, which allows customers to move money globally without the need for correspondent banking relationships. Ripple has also reported strong on-chain activity, with decentralized exchange volumes increasing 34% from the previous quarter. The company has sourced XRP from the open market to ensure sufficient supply is available for its growing ODL business.
Ripple Q1 2023 Report Shows ODL Thrived Despite Banking Crisis
Despite disruptions from the US banking crisis, Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution exhibited robust growth in Q1 2023, with total ODL sales amounting to $2.93 billion worth of XRP, according to Ripple's recently-released XRP market report. The report revealed a slight dip of 1.1% from the previous quarter but highlighted ODL's resilience considering the impact of the banking crisis on Ripple. Ripple temporarily suspended XRP purchases for a few days due to the crisis but promptly resumed purchase activity thereafter. Ripple saw a 59.5% increase in net sales QoQ, with a net sale of $361.06 million worth of XRP.
Ripple CEO Shades US, Says He Likes To “Focus on Positive”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has criticized the US for being backward in establishing clear regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency-related activities, while other regions like the EU, UAE, and UK have moved forward with new regulatory frameworks. Garlinghouse chose to focus on the positive events happening in other parts of the world, such as the EU approving its first comprehensive framework to regulate its cryptocurrency industry and the UAE releasing a rulebook for regulating cryptos. The US is struggling to establish clear rules for its crypto industry and has yet to identify which crypto assets should be classified as security or commodity. The SEC has been ignoring calls from industry stakeholders to establish clear crypto rules.
