eToro is the latest exchange to suspend trading for XRP after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against its creators last week. The exchange will suspend trading of the coin on January 3 for US users.
eToro will ban purchases of XRP, as well conversions of XRP to other coins in the eToro wallet, it announced today. Its customers with existing XRP positions have until January 24 to close them. The suspension only affects US customers and doesn't prohibit HODLing or withdrawals.
“These changes have been made in response to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Inc. For now, the changes only apply to US customers," a spokesperson for eToro told Decrypt.
The complaint, filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission last Tuesday, alleges that Ripple, as well as co-founder Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse, raised more than $1.3 billion by distributing XRP in unregistered securities sales.
Ripple periodically sells XRP to alter the number of coins in public circulation. The SEC claims that these sales constitute investment contracts and that Ripple violated US law by not first registering with the SEC.
In response, Ripple claims that these sales do not constitute investment contracts, and thus it was not required to register with the SEC. "We are right and will aggressively fight - and win - this battle in the courts to get clear rules of the road for the entire industry in the U.S.,” it said.
Garlinghouse said in a prepared statement, "The SEC is fundamentally wrong as a matter of law and fact.”
The lawsuit has slashed the price of XRP, which has lost 65% of its value since its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, spread news of the complaint last Monday.
eToro is the latest exchange to suspend trading of the coin. Coinbase, Bitstamp, Bittrex and OKCoin are among those that intend to suspend trading for the coin next month.