SEC filed lawsuit against Ripple and two of its executives in December 2020
John Deaton, the founder of CryptoLaw and an attorney for XRP holders, draws attention to the incalculable damage brought on by the SEC Lawsuit.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple and two of its executives in December 2020, alleging that the sale of XRP constituted an unregistered security offering.
You could NEVER underestimate the damage the SEC’s lawsuit has caused – NOT ONLY AGAINST RIPPLE – BUT #XRP. THREE YEARS OF ADOPTION – that’s what it’s caused.
Just how long is 3 yrs – in crypto years?
People seem to forget how much Coinbase promoted #XRP before the lawsuit.… https://t.co/1fZ3r8WCSd pic.twitter.com/GLu4kFUU38
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) August 22, 2023
Judge Torres decided last month that the sale of XRP through algorithms and exchanges did not constitute an investment contract. The cryptocurrency sector hailed this as a major triumph.
Although the partial win in the lawsuit was a consoling development, there is little doubt that XRP has already suffered certain setbacks as a result of the lawsuit.
In a recent tweet, Deaton highlighted that the SEC case harmed not only Ripple but also XRP. He said that the litigation has cost XRP three years of adoption. The three years taken in crypto are significant because those years saw notable advances, innovations and a massive bull run.
The founder of CryptoLaw also mentioned how Coinbase was a supporter of XRP before the case and how he doubled down on his XRP holdings after Coinbase listed XRP and highlighted XRP’s utility.
On Feb. 25, 2019, Coinbase listed XRP on its platform. Coinbase was leveraging XRP and USDC to expand into cross-border payments around two months later.
The innovation enabled Coinbase customers to send funds to any user with a Coinbase account anywhere in the world using XRP and USDC for free. Deaton shared a screenshot attesting to this fact.
Yesterday, Coinbase and Circle announced they were expanding the USDC stablecoin networks. Coinbase has also taken an equity stake in Circle.
Commenting on this, Deaton speculated on what would have happened in terms of adoption if the SEC lawsuit had never been filed. Maybe Coinbase would acquire a stake in Ripple instead of Circle.
In a final note, Deaton states that despite Ripple’s continued and impressive success, with 95% outside the U.S., the lawsuit hurt XRP and development related to the XRP Ledger.
