It appears that one of the most traded cryptocurrencies in the world, Ripple’s XRP, has taken a massive nosedive after yet another crypto exchange has decided to remove the coin from its platform.
Ripple’s XRP, which at one point was the fourth biggest coin by market cap, now only sits just above $0.20 as of Wednesday morning, after losing more than 40% of its value in the past week. The sudden decline follows Coinbase’s announcement to suspend XRP trading pairs from its marketplace amid an SEC lawsuit against the coin’s creator, Ripple.
Much like its digital counterparts, XRP was part of some of the biggest rallies over the past several months as investors around the globe averted their attention to cryptocurrencies. However, a significant amount of XRP’s gains were soon erased after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple and several of its executives. The lawsuit alleges that Ripple sold over $1.3 billion worth of unregistered coins since 2013, with the SEC contending that XRP is a security, rather than a currency, and should have been registered with the commission as one.
In response to the lawsuit – which XRP was anticipating even before the regulator’s announcement – Ripple said the allegations are “an attack on the entire crypto industry” in the US. According to Ripple, the SEC only created unnecessary harm to XRP retail holders rather than just introducing additional regulatory clarity for the crypto industry.
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Nonetheless, Coinbase’s decision comes mere days after similar announcements were made by other crypto exchanges in light of the lawsuit. Last week, Bitstamp revealed that it would remove XRP trading from its platform as well as all deposits for US customers come January 8. In the meantime, OKCoin will also delist the currency as of January 4.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
