467 Million XRP Moved As SEC Files Fresh Motion
XRP's price has been boosted by recent minor legal wins against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with the cryptocurrency up around 50% on a year-to-date basis. More than 467 million XRP (approx. worth $235 million) have been moved in multiple transactions over the past 24 hours, according to data from WhaleAlert. The biggest transaction recorded was the movement of 177 million XRP (approx. worth $91.7 million) to an unknown wallet, while whales bought around 83 million XRP tokens (approx. worth $43 million) in multiple transactions.
Crypto Evening Briefing: Hong Kong Chief Executive Emphasized That the Current Development of Web3.0 Presents a Golden Opportunity
In the face of the trend towards Web3.0, Hong Kong must be brave enough to become leaders in this wave of innovation.
U.S. SEC Adding Attorneys to Crypto Enforcement Unit, Signals Continued Crackdown
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is hiring general attorneys for its Crypto Asset and Cyber Unit (CACU) in New York, Washington, DC, and San Francisco, according to a job posting. The CACU focuses on violations of the federal securities laws and exercises the full range of the Division's investigative and law enforcement powers. The attorneys joining the CACU are expected to conduct investigations involving "crypto asset securities," develop litigation plans, draft legal documents including subpoenas, and conduct depositions. The SEC said in March that it was planning to add additional staff to the unit, which has since doubled in size.
XRP’s Four-Week Rally Was Led by Retail Investors: Kaiko
XRP has rallied almost 40% in the past four weeks, outperforming other top digital assets, including bitcoin, driven mainly by retail investors, according to analysis by Kaiko, a Paris-based provider of crypto data. Trading volumes in XRP-Korean won (KRW) trading pairs on South Korean exchanges Upbit, Bithumb and Korbit soared last month, accounting for a giant share of the global activity. XRP has been rallying on hopes that Ripple Labs, which the US argues issued the token, will win its legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The cryptocurrency changed hands near $0.52 at press time, having hit a high of $0.58 on March 29.
Crypto Whales Scoops 150 Million XRP As XRPL Drops New Proposal
XRP is experiencing an upward trend, driven by an anticipated win in the SEC lawsuit, as well as a new proposal on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) called Hooks. Ripple announced that Hooks will add smart contract-like functionality to the XRPL, allowing for custom code to influence the behavior and flow of transactions. Crypto whales are accumulating more XRP tokens in response to this proposal, with over 146 million XRP, worth approximately $77 million, added by whale addresses in multiple transactions over the last 24 hours, according to data from WhaleAlert.
Binance, Coinbase, Regulators… What’s Up?
Recently we’ve seen a lot of turbulence on the crypto market: collapses, litigations, insolvencies, layoffs… This might be a reason why SEC and CFTC have started to intensely pursue crypto firms, creating a challenging environment for the industry in the US. This article gives a short update on the recent events connected to the two major CEXs — Binance and Coinbase.
U.S. SEC Committee Urges ‘Aggressive Enforcement’ on Crypto, Says Most Token Are Securities
The US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Investor Advisory Committee has urged the agency to continue its aggressive enforcement on crypto players that offer unregistered securities. The committee clarified that it believes "virtually all" crypto tokens to be financial securities, upholding the view maintained by SEC Chair Gary Gensler where he asserts all cryptocurrencies, except for Bitcoin, are securities. The advisory committee recommended that the SEC oppose legislation that would make special exemptions to securities regulations for crypto assets. In February, the SEC fined crypto exchange Kraken $30 million for providing crypto staking services, which the agency believes to be an unregistered provision of securities.
Bank of America and Fidelity Hold MicroStrategy Shares, Indicating Institutional Interest in Indirect Bitcoin Exposure
Bank of America and Fidelity held significant numbers of MicroStrategy shares on their balance sheets in the first quarter, suggesting continued institutional interest in indirect bitcoin exposures.
Lawyer Lays Out His Reasoning on Why XRP Is Not a Security
Ripple's XRP token has been declared not to be a security by Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan law firm. Hogan argues that XRP could only be considered a security if it fits the definition of an "investment contract," but the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not demonstrated this in its lawsuit against Ripple. The SEC claims that Ripple illegally sold XRP as an unregistered security, but Ripple argues that it does not constitute an investment contract under the Howey test, established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1946. Hogan also states that the key issue is whether the SEC can prove an implied or explicit "contract" between Ripple and XRP purchasers relating to their investment, which Hogan claims does not exist.
Legal Community Excepts XRP Verdict by May 6, Lawyer Admits SEC Has One Valid Claim
Chatter among the legal community has increased in recent days as a verdict is now expected by some on or before May 6, with others admitting the SEC has one valid claim.
