$XRP Price Surges as CFTC Says $BTC, $ETH, and Others Are Commodities in Lawsuit Against Binance
TL;DR XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, surged more than 10% over the last 24-hour period after the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) pointed to Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and Litecoin ($LTC) as commodities in a lawsuit against Binance. Ripple's ongoing legal battle with the U.S.
The price of $XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, has surged more than 10% over the last 24-hour period after some in the cryptocurrency community pointed out that in the lawsuit the Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (SEC) filed against Binance, it named several digital assets as commodities.
XRP is at the time of writing trading at around $0.50 per token, a five-month high for the cryptocurrency that comes both after the XRP Ledger introduced a number of significant upgrades, including a proposal that could ‘significantly expand’ its use cases. and as the CFTC pointed to Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and Litecoin ($LTC) as commodities in a lawsuit against Binance.
CFTC says that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin are Commodities pic.twitter.com/nSNX2YIYLP — Conor (@jconorgrogan) March 27, 2023
The CFTC filing was seen as a bullish catalyst for XRP as Ripple, the largest player on the cryptocurrency’s ecosystem, has an ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after the regulator alleged the fintech firm “raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering.”
Ripple has numerous times separated itself from XRP, with the cryptocurrency providing the underlying value for certain Ripple offerings. Developments in the legal case nevertheless impact XRP over Ripple’s size and influence in the cryptocurrency’s ecosystem.
If XRP were to be seen as a commodity, Ripple would win the legal case, which when it was filed saw numerous cryptocurrency trading platforms delist XRP, leading to a sell-off as it lost significant liquidity.
Ripple CTO David Schwartz has in the past argued that XRP is a commodity.
XRP is a raw good that trades in commerce and one XRP is treated as equivalent to every other XRP. That's pretty much the definition of a "commodity". No part of XRP's value comes from anyone else's legal obligations to XRP holders. — David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 20, 2023
Earlier this month, Ripple’s President, Monica Long, spoke with CNBC International TV at Paris Blockchain Week 2023, expressing confidence in Ripple’s ongoing lawsuit with the SEC and highlighting Europe’s unified approach to crypto regulation.