XRP

The Battle Scarred Veteran of Crypto

Born in 2012, $XRP is the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the fourth largest by trading volume, with a price increase of around 600% since November ‘24. Ripple ($XRP) is a digital asset on a decentralized blockchain: the XRP Ledger. Created to make payments cheaper and faster vs Bitcoin, it utilises the Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (as opposed to Bitcoin’s mining process). This means transactions are typically settled in 3-5 seconds, and cost around $0.0002. 

In December 2020, Ripple Labs inc. (the company behind XRP) and two of its executives, were sued by the SEC for offering unregistered securities, dragging the crypto currency into a legal case that would likely set a precedent for the whole industry. “The SEC is fundamentally wrong as a matter of fact and law” Ripple Labs was quick to respond, however this didn’t stop major exchanges delisting $XRP and trading volume dropping (although $XRP still hit a multi year high of $1.96 in April 2021), leading many to question XRP’s future.

Despite this ongoing legal battle, Ripple Labs continued to build its ODL (On Demand Liquidity) business and partnerships with financial institutions around the world, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, on projects including Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC’s) and Cross Border Payments. After slow progress throughout 2021 and 2022, a ruling came in July 2023 from judge Analisa Torres that $XRP isn’t a security in the context of programmatic sales (mainly to retail investors) but that the institutional sales of XRP do qualify for security status. Later that year, the cases against CEO Brad Galinghouse and executive chairman Christian Larsen were voluntarily dismissed by the SEC after the court ruled against them.

Ordered to pay a $125m fine in August 2024, the SEC appealed the judge’s decision and with the appeal still ongoing, $XRP’s status in the USA is still uncertain (interestingly it is not uncertain in other jurisdictions, with the UK’s FCA and the Japanese FSA both classifying it as a cryptocurrency, not a security). Nevertheless the cryptocurrency’s self-titled army of backers, the ‘XRP Army’ has stuck by it through the quagmire of the last four years, and is more fanatical than ever now the finish line seems in sight and the price is going up. Add to this the incoming Trump administration that has been vocal in support for the crypto industry and against the overreach of the SEC, (in particular chairman Gary Gensler) and the future for $XRP seems rosy.

Confidently posting on X, Brad Garlinghouse (Ripple CEO) said of the SEC’s decision to appeal the ruling “Gensler, very much on brand - completely dismissive of the 2024 election and the American public - fully commits to his failed regulation by enforcement to the bitter, bitter end. #sad”.

Garlinghouse’s sentiment is echoed by the company itself, branding their newly launched RLUSD stablecoin “Stable, transparent, trusted”.

With the much anticipated creation of the new Crypto Advisory Council and easing of the regulatory environment, $XRP is expected to flourish, with some even speculating that the appeal will get thrown out by the new SEC chair. With this newfound optimism has come calls for wild price targets for $XRP, with some of the ‘XRP Army’ calling for $10+ (which isn’t out of the realm of possibility come peak euphoria) but as is usual with crypto, should be taken with a pinch of salt, and a whole lot of due diligence.

What is much more certain is that Ripple will expand their partnerships across the US more aggressively, something they have struggled to do till now with the overhang of the case. The case against Ripple has drawn the whole global crypto industry’s eyes. Legal proceedings from the enforcement agency of the world’s strongest and most important economy against one of the oldest, most valuable and most widely adopted digital assets. A litmus test for the future of the industry with far reaching implications for all digital assets.

If the case against Ripple is dismissed, many expect digital assets across the US to be taken a whole lot more seriously. For many players in the industry, the successful resolution of the case will be the vindication that yes, digital assets are the future of finance. All in all 2025 is shaping up to be a sea change year for XRP and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. But with the direction still uncertain, will we see Ripple Labs free to expand business in the USA, adding major banks and financial infrastructure providers to their already bulging customer list? Or will the future have more complicated twists and turns in store?