Attorney and XRP proponent John Deaton recently shared that it is difficult to truly measure the damage the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple and XRP has done to Ripple’s business. In 2012, when Ripple’s founders created XRP, stablecoins did not yet exist and the global payments market was wide open to innovation.
At the time, Ripple was deciding whether to focus on smart contracts or payments. Ultimately, Ripple chose to focus on cross-border payments, which it said made sense given the size of the market and the lack of stablecoins at the time.
In 2019, Coinbase listed XRP and promoted it as a way to send money internationally quickly and cheaply. Later that year, MoneyGram started using XRP for wire transfers. But just 18 months later, the SEC filed a lawsuit claiming that all XRP – regardless of how it was purchased – was an unregistered security.
After the lawsuit, Coinbase dropped XRP and MoneyGram switched to using XLM. But Deaton wonders: Is there really a legal difference between using XRP or XLM for payments? However, the creator of XLM, Jed McCaleb, is also the co-founder of Ripple. Deaton argues that the SEC’s lawsuit is far too broad. He also points out that many of the people who brought the case against Ripple later worked for Ripple’s competitors.
“But when you look at the circumstances surrounding how this case was filed, including the massive conflicts of interest, and the fact that the people behind the lawsuit went on to help or work for Ripple/XRP competitors, you don’t have to be a fan to shout it out,” he concluded.
Ripple vs. SEC Saga Continues:
The legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had a major impact on XRP since the lawsuit began in December 2020. A key moment came on July 13, 2023, when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is not a security. was a major regulatory decision. However, the SEC appealed on October 17, contesting parts of the ruling. The SEC must file its opening brief by January 15, 2025, with the matter remaining in the public eye.