Final Ruling Concludes Ripple v. SEC
The long-running Ripple v. SEC lawsuit finally reached its conclusion on August 7. Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple must pay a $125 million fine for violating securities laws related to the sale of XRP to institutions. This decision marks the end of a 45-month legal battle, with no appeals expected.
The fine was significantly lower than the $2 billion originally proposed by the SEC, but still much higher than the $10 million Ripple suggested. Despite this, Ripple considered the ruling a partial victory, as the price of XRP surged toward $0.65 shortly after the news broke.
In a surprising follow-up, Ripple announced two days later that it had begun private beta testing of its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin on both the Ethereum and XRPL mainnets. This move could signal Ripple’s focus on expanding its ecosystem beyond XRP.
Bitcoin Drops Below $50,000
The crypto market faced a major downturn last week, with Bitcoin (BTC) leading the charge. On August 5, Bitcoin’s price fell below $50,000 for the first time in six months, triggering widespread panic across the market. Liquidations exceeded $1 billion, marking the largest single-day loss this year.
Despite the drop, Bitcoin whale investors took advantage of the lower prices, buying up $23 billion worth of BTC in just 30 days. This accumulation helped Bitcoin recover to the $60,000 level as the market rebounded. According to CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju, Bitcoin could still reach a new all-time high (ATH) if it maintains a price above $45,000.
Harris Looks to the Crypto Industry
In political news, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris made a notable move to appeal to the crypto community. On August 6, Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, a decision that significantly boosted her chances in the polls. Her odds of winning the election jumped from 3% to 46% on Polymarket, and she even surpassed Republican candidate Donald Trump in the polls.
To further engage with the crypto industry, the Democratic party launched a “Crypto for Harris” campaign. This initiative seeks to connect with crypto industry leaders and discuss pro-crypto policies. However, Harris’s absence from a virtual crypto roundtable on August 8 left some, including Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, puzzled.
Brazil Approves Solana ETF
In a significant development for the Latin American crypto market, Brazil’s SEC approved the country’s first Solana ETF last week. However, the product is still in the pre-operational stage and needs further approval from Brazil’s stock exchange, B3, before it can officially launch. This ETF could open up more opportunities for investors in the region to gain exposure to Solana, one of the most popular blockchain platforms of this cycle.
FTX to Pay $12 Billion to Creditors
The saga of FTX and its affiliated company, Alameda Research, continues with a significant ruling last week. Judge Peter Castel ordered FTX and Alameda to pay $12.7 billion to creditors as part of their settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Additionally, FTX must cease all crypto trading services, marking a dramatic turn and defeat for the once-prominent exchange.
MiCA Enforced: Binance Limits Copy Trading and Stablecoins for EU Users
With the EU’s new cryptocurrency regulations (MiCA) now in effect, Binance has made significant changes for European users. As of June 26, 2024, Binance blocked access to copy trading* for EU users, advising them to close positions and move funds to their spot wallets.
Additionally, Binance limited services involving unregulated stablecoins. While trading, depositing, and withdrawing these stablecoins remain possible, restrictions now apply to buying, borrowing, and using these stablecoins. Despite these changes, Binance has not (yet) delisted these stablecoins.
* Copy trading is a practice where automated programs replicate the trades of experienced traders in real-time, allowing users to potentially profit without needing in-depth market knowledge or expertise.
