Hidden Road’s clients in the US can now trade cash-settled OTC swaps across major crypto assets, marking one of the first product launches following its acquisition by Ripple. Ripple’s newly acquired prime broker, Hidden Road, has launched cryptocurrency swaps for institutional investors in the United States. The service allows US institutional clients to trade cash-settled over-the-counter (OTC) swaps across multiple major crypto assets, Hidden Road announced on May 28. The new OTC swap product is offered by Hidden Road Partners, the company’s entity regulated by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Read more
Circle is reportedly seeking a sale price of at least $5 billion, which would be around the amount it’s targeting for its IPO. Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USDC (USDC), is still planning an initial public offering (IPO), but the company is also in informal talks with Ripple and Coinbase about a sale, according to a report from Fortune. Circle is seeking at least $5 billion, which is its target for the IPO, according to the four banking and private equity sources Fortune cited. Ripple tried to purchase Circle on April 30, but the $4 billion to $5 billion bid was rejected as being too low. If Ripple or Coinbase were to buy Circle, the details of a purchase would differ. Ripple would pay using cash and XRP (XRP), a cryptocurrency that Ripple created. Coinbase, on the other hand, would use cash and stock. Read more
The two principal partners, Zand Bank and Mamo, will use Ripple Payments, a platform that combines stablecoins, crypto, and fiat currency to enable payments. Ripple, the creator of cryptocurrency XRP (XRP), launched cross-border blockchain payments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a development that could spur the adoption of cryptocurrency in a country receptive to digital assets. Zand Bank, the UAE’s first all-digital bank, and Mamo, a fintech company that offers a digital payment platform for businesses, will be the principal users of the blockchain payments system, according to a May 19 Ripple announcement. Zand Bank and Mamo will use “Ripple Payments” to facilitate cross-border blockchain payments. Read more
Chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty said "procedural concerns" are at the heart of a court's denial of a joint motion by Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission to settle the regulator's case against it. Ripple’s legal chief said a US court’s rejection of a proposed XRP settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not pose a threat to Ripple’s win. Judge Analisa Torres of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a joint Ripple-SEC motion seeking an indicative ruling on their proposed settlement, according to a filing on May 15. Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, said the rejection does not reverse the company’s victory in the case. The company announced the end of the lawsuit on March 19. Read more
US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw says if approved, the settlement with Ripple would join the long line of dismissals that is slowly eroding the credibility of SEC lawyers in court. A crypto-skeptical commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission has blasted her agency over its settlement letter that could finally end the Ripple legal saga. The SEC and Ripple filed a joint settlement letter in a New York court asking for the August 2024 injunction against Ripple to be dissolved and $75 million of the $125 million in civil penalties held in escrow to be returned to the crypto firm, according to a May 8 statement from the SEC. SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw blasted the pending deal in a May 8 statement, saying it would damage the regulators’ ability to keep crypto firms in line and undermine the court’s ruling. Read more
The SEC backed down in the Ripple case, but the industry remains in the dark on key legal questions with no precedent set. UPDATE: The headline has been updated to reflect Ripple’s clarification the “bad actor” designation was not applied as part of its settlement with the SEC. Ripple has emerged (mostly) victorious from its long-running battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but for legal experts, the cases conclusion feels like a missed opportunity. Since the case didnt advance to a higher court, Judge Analisa Torres original district court decision which famously differentiated between XRP sales to institutional investors and those on exchanges has not established a binding precedent. Read more
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the SEC lawsuit is “over,” Donald Trump speaks at Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit: Hodler’s Digest The US Securities and Exchange Commissions multi-year enforcement action against Ripple is finally coming to an end, according to the companys CEO. This is it the moment weve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote on X on March 19. Im finally able to announce that the case has ended; its over, Garlinghouse said in the video attached to the X post. Read more