Ripple’s Legal Battle Takes a Twist: 2018 SEC Memo Challenges XRP’s Security Status

• John E Deaton highlights a 2018 internal SEC memo that doesn’t recommend action against Ripple over XRP sales, challenging the SEC’s classification of XRP.
• Legal expert Bill Morgan argues the SEC’s differentiation between intrinsic value and functionality of digital assets like XRP might be oversimplified.

In an unforeseen twist, John E Deaton, a renowned blockchain enthusiast and legal expert, has unearthed a concealed gem that might reshape the course of Ripple’s relentless legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Deaton’s spotlight falls on an internal memo from 2018, potentially holding the key to Ripple’s legal fate.

The clandestine 2018 internal memo authored by SEC enforcement lawyers has emerged as a centerpiece of intrigue. Notably, this memo refrained from recommending any punitive measures against Ripple concerning the sale of its XRP tokens. This revelation prompts a critical question – if even the SEC’s own lawyers did not categorically label XRP as a security, how could Ripple’s leadership be held culpable for security law violations?

Bill Morgan, a legal virtuoso, injects further debate into the narrative by dissecting the SEC’s approach to the intrinsic value of digital assets like XRP. Morgan contends that the SEC’s endeavor to separate digital assets from commodities such as gold based solely on intrinsic value might be myopic. He asserts that the functional utility of digital assets should be an integral part of the valuation equation – a perspective that the SEC might be overlooking.

Amidst the ongoing legal turmoil and the recent perturbations in the crypto market, XRP’s price exhibits resilience, maintaining its position below $0.55. An intriguing on-chain indicator, the XRP Network Value to Transaction Volume (NVT) ratio, witnesses an astonishing 340% surge within a week. This surge potentially underlines a discord between increasing economic activity and the prevailing price downtrend.

The soaring NVT ratio implies external forces contributing to the dip in XRP’s price. Given XRP’s perceived undervaluation, a bullish market sentiment could trigger a substantial price surge. This premise gains further traction from the reluctance of long-term holders to sell at current rates, evident in the XRP Mean Coin Age metric’s uptick by 10%.

The Precarious Balancing Act: Anticipating XRP’s Trajectory

A potential 20% price rise looms on the horizon if heightened transactional activity converges with sustained investor loyalty. Similarly, the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio aligns with this optimistic trajectory. However, caution prevails, as any dip below $0.45 might relinquish the bears’ grip, ushering in the potential for a downward spiral.

In this riveting saga, Ripple’s XRP stands at a crossroads of legal revelations and market dynamics, captivating the attention of enthusiasts and investors alike. The unfolding narrative holds the promise of unexpected outcomes in a landscape ever permeated by innovation and change.