XRP, the 6th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has recovered from the drop in value caused by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit back in December of 2020, reaching its all-time high of the last 2 years.
While the coin had been gradually gaining value over the last month, it had failed to surpass the $0.69 mark it had reached back on November 24th of 2020 before the SEC’s move against Ripple and 2 of its executives in the next month due to an alleged violation of the Securities Act.
On April 5th of 2021, XRP experienced a surge of over 40% that saw it reach a price of $0.92, the highest it has been ever since its all-time high on January 7th, according to Coingecko data.
The surge comes at a time when the Total Market Capitalization of the crypto industry has surpassed the $2 trillion mark and ETH reached an all-time high of $2.1k, which has been reflected by an increase in the price of most of the top crypto projects in the ecosystem over the last week.
Ripple 40% Stake Tranglo Acquisition and Partial Win Against SEC Might Be Driving the Surge
The upward trend started about a week ago with the announcement of Ripple’s acquisition of a 40% stake in Tranglo, an Asian company that specializes in Cross-Border Payment Solutions
This stake could allow RippleNet Customers to leverage Ripple’s Line of Credit to free up working capital and scale cross-border payments into new markets.
Jacky Lee, Chief Executive Officer at Tranglo, referred to this acquisition by stating:
“Tranglo has always prided itself on making cross-border transactions faster, cheaper, and more secure. By partnering closely with Ripple and introducing On-Demand Liquidity to new markets, we aim to further that ambition to provide accessible and equitable financial services to the masses.”
Once the attraction is approved by regulatory authorities, Amir Sarhangi, VP of Product and Delivery at Ripple, and Brooks Entwistle are expected to join Tranglo’s board of directors, cementing the move.
I addition to this move, James Filan, the defender for Ripple’s executives, tweeted back on April 3rd to announce that they had reached an agreement with the SEC to partially redact some of the emails being considered in the lawsuit to protect the company’s information from the public eye.
Some experts in the industry believe that this partial win could also be driving the bull run experienced by the cryptocurrency over the last few days, which future is likely to depend on the outcome of the lawsuit.
Ripple Could Operate Without XRP
SEC Lawsuit: "@Ripple and I have been more transparent than anyone else in the #crypto industry about our activity."
CEO @bgarlinghouse says the #SEC is wrong on the facts & on the law.
"I find a certain irony with bringing a lawsuit against us personally." / PART 1 pic.twitter.com/d0dN8IdqQA
— Julia Chatterley (@jchatterleyCNN) April 1, 2021
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said in an interview with CNN that he believed Ripple could operate without XRP if necessary. He added that the company has, “always thought about our product as ‘How do we solve a customer’s problem first and foremost?’”
He also stated that Ripple and the two executives who have been targets of the SEC’s complaints have nothing to hide as they have been “extremely transparent” during all of the legal process and the existence of the company.
During the interview, Mr. Garlinghouse referred to the lawsuit as “ironic” by stating:
“The SEC themselves haven’t really said well they know for sure that XRP is a security. In their own court filings, they’ve said that the court will determine that, which of course brings a contradiction that if the court’s going to determine that, how could I personally have known that the SEC would view XRP as a security.“
While the lawsuit is far from over as both parties continue to negotiate and fill motions, even with XRP holders looking to participate in the legal battle, its effects on XRP’s valuation have been clear, catching the attention not only of its holders but also other companies that could face a similar situation in the future.
