XRP's Momentum Fades as Price Plunges 16%

XRP's price momentum has stalled, with the fifth-largest cryptocurrency plunging by 16% to fall below $0.70. The token is now back below Binance's BNB, according to CoinGecko data.  

This price drop comes after a surge of over 80% following a mixed ruling in the case Ripple v. SEC case that has led to Coinbase, Bitstamp, and other prominent exchanges relisting XRP in the U.S. 

Charles Gasparino of Fox Business noted the plunge on Twitter, pointing to lingering uncertainties about the extent of Ripple's victory in court.

The court ordered that $700 million in XRP sales were illegal and needed to be repaid, a damning fact that has been largely ignored by the pro-Ripple crowd.  

Legal analyst John Reed Stark has critically reviewed the court decision, pointing out several potential flaws. Stark suggests that the ruling creates a complicated distinction between private sales of XRP to accredited investors and programmatic sales of the tokens on crypto-trading platforms.

He argues that this approach could establish a class of "quasi-securities" that change depending on the sophistication of the investor, something he calls "counter-intuitive, inconsistent with SEC case law and unprecedented in this context."

Stark also highlights the concern that the ruling may treat sales of tokens to sophisticated investors, such as venture capitalist firms, as securities, while those sold to retail traders are not. He suggests this is counter to basic investor protection principles and overlooks the fact that all investors, regardless of their sophistication, are making a bet on Ripple when buying XRP. 

The former SEC official concludes by stating that the SEC will likely appeal the Ripple decision to the 2nd Circuit and predicts that the District Court's rulings related to programmatic and other sales will be overturned.

Otherwise, he warns, the market may see a new iteration of tokens exempt from securities regulation due to investor ignorance and lack of disclosure.