Ripple Payment Warms-up in United States Amid SEC Legal Battle

As a result of a recent theft that may have cost $112.5 million in XRP tokens, Ripple is preparing to introduce its payment services in the U.S. despite regulatory obstacles with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The blockchain-based payments company Ripple is involved in a legal dispute with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding regulating its cryptocurrency, XRP. The accusations made by the SEC have clouded Ripple’s operations and raised questions about whether or not XRP would be categorized as a security.

The company also acknowledged the present challenges, ranging from the many litigation cases from the SEC and the recent wallet breach of the company’s co-founder. In a responsive move, the Binance exchange has restricted over $4.2 million worth of XRP suspected to have been stolen from Ripple’s co-founder and is currently assisting in the ongoing investigations.

Ripple CEO Moves to Address Community Concerns, Corrects SEC Statement 

Brad Garlinghouse, the Ripple CEO, is working on addressing the concerns raised by the Ripple community. Garlinghouse has also promised to extend the review process to the token’s security section, which Ripple’s co-founder, Chris Larsen, had fallen victim to during the latest breach on his wallet.

It was gathered that the legal tussle between Ripple and SEC is not in sight because both parties have constantly twisted their statements at some point. On January 25, Ripple presented a letter to Judge Sarah Netburn of the District Magistrate, moving to correct the “factual inaccuracies” found in the SEC’s compelling response.

Ripple has also commented on the relevance of the additional reply to their filed motion (sur-reply) concerning the court ruling. The company also disagreed with the SEC’s idea that it (Ripple) doesn’t agree with the responsibilities domicile in the post-complaint contracts.

Ripple Says 90% of it’s Business is Internationally Recognized

Ripple is moving to break its 3-year-long silence in the United States. This was made public through a LinkedIn post by Ripple’s Head of Product Marketing, W. Oliver Segovia, who announced that they are ready to launch a set of product updates expected to come in series. The updates are expected to be powered by extensive Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs).

They will also be designed to target different states in the United States. Ripple, in its official statement, said it is introducing its Ripple Payments in the United States market at a time when 90% of its businesses are internationally recognized.

However, as of press time, XRP trades at $0.520218, rising by 3.41% in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap, and has recorded a 24-hour trading volume of $935,518,504. XRP is currently ranking #6 on the CoinMarketCap platform, with a market capitalization of $28,318,660,212. 

Ripple Already Spent $200 Million in Legal Expenses, Deaton Wades in

The ripple community has started talking, with some expecting a fine from the court. Ripple may likely get fined for violating institutional sales law. John Deaton, the popular pro-XRP lawyer, has commented on the development.

He said the SEC is curious to know about Ripple’s financial records by delving into the company’s contacts, especially the ones made after the recent complaint. Deaton forecasts that Ripple may be compelled to demonstrate the legality of most of its sales.

He also predicted up to $10 million – $100 million in fines should the case go against Ripple. This is far less than the $200 million in legal expenses the company has already spent on trying to defend its activities.