In brief
- An online petition has gathered over 35,000 votes asking the US government to deem XRP a currency.
- The petition follows SEC's recent action against Ripple.
- The petition will need 100,000 signatures in total before the government is required to respond.
Over 35,000 people have signed an online petition asking the US federal government to deem the cryptocurrency XRP a currency.
On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced an action against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of the company’s executives, alleging they raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered digital asset securities offering. This has caused mass delistings of the token and caused its price to crash. Now, thousands of frustrated XRP fans are throwing a Hail Mary.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission is tasked to protect investors in US Securities. It however, has filed frivolous action claiming the cryptocurrency, XRP, which has already been deemed a currency by FinCEN, to be a security,” the petition states.
Since the SEC’s action in December, XRP’s value has nose dived to near negligible levels. After being priced at $0.56 on December 21, 2020, XRP dropped by 67% to $0.18 by December 29.
Since then, XRP has climbed slightly to $0.25 but has not managed to recover to figures seen prior to the SEC’s announcement.
As a result, the writer of the petition alleges the SEC has caused harm against the investors the regulatory body is meant to protect.
Blockchain.com Joins Growing List of Exchanges Halting XRP Trading
Blockchain.com, a cryptocurrency exchange, will disallow XRP trading on its platform, according to a statement from the site. January 14 will mark the site’s last day of XRP trades before the freeze. The statement clarifies that Blockchain.com traders will retain access to the XRP they already have, albeit in a limited capacity—they’ll be able to send it out, but won’t be able to receive any new XRP. The note makes it clear that the move is a direct response to the SEC’s recent lawsuit against R...
“Due to this action, the 40 billion dollar market for the currency is rapidly failing as companies scramble to maintain compliance,” the petition reads, adding, “Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans - the very Americans that the SEC is tasked to protect - are suffering irreparable harm and damages.”
While the petition has already garnered 35,000 signatures, if it wants the government to respond, it needs 65,000 more.
