Crypto payments firm Ripple Labs introduced the cryptocurrency that is widely known as XRP and the token saw an 11% increase in its value on Friday morning.
This comes after a strong week of gains for the crypto driven by the hope of investors that the lawsuit against Ripple Labs that was filed by the SEC may finally be coming to an end.
Value rises
After jumping 11% on Friday morning, the XRP token’s price cooled down a bit but was still 3% higher for the day.
As far as the week is concerned, the last seven days have seen the token jump by 44% and this has put it back in the list of top six coins in terms of market capitalization, even though there is a general slump in the market.
The post-merge sell-off in Ethereum has seen it lose yet another 12.8% and Bitcoin has gone below the $19,000 threshold for the day.
The price rise for XRP comes after reports earlier this week that both Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed motions asking for summary judgment in the lawsuit worth $1.3 billion.
The lawsuit
Both parties want the lawsuit to be dismissed and have asked the judge to give a ruling in their favor. The lawsuit had been filed by the SEC in December 2020 against Ripple and its top executives.
The securities regulator had accused the company of conducting an unregistered securities offering when it sold its XRP token to the public.
Ripple also filed a memorandum, along with its motion, in which it said that its token sale did not confer any rights to XRP holders.
Therefore, it said that the company did not have any obligation to act on their behalf. Stu Alderoty, the General Counsel for Ripple, said that the filing indicates that the SEC did not act within its authority.
He said that rather than applying the law, the SEC wants to remake the law because it wants to expand its jurisdiction.
The SEC
As for the SEC, it has alleged that the XRP token that Ripple has advertised as a cryptocurrency is actually a security under the Howey Test.
This is the benchmark that is used for determining whether an asset is an investment contract under federal law and has been used since the 1930s.
According to the regulator, those who bought the XRP token expected to make a profit after purchasing the coin, which meant that their purchase would be the same as investments in a common enterprise.
Brad Garlinghouse, the chief executive of Ripple, said that before the involvement of the SEC, the XRP token had been the second-most valuable crypto in the market ahead of Ethereum.
The CEO said that they do not really expect a trial to happen because the facts presented are not really in dispute.
He said that they believe the judge has all the information required for issuing a ruling and it is apparent that the SEC is superseding its authority.
