Why XRP Is Up 19% Today

The XRP team is gearing up to battle the SEC in court and just found a piece of compelling evidence that may sway things in its favor.

XRP has gained solid ground this week. The cryptocurrency’s price saw gains of up to 19% today as it remade losses from its steep drop on May 11th. This price increase comes on the same day that the SEC v. Ripple court hearing is set to take place. However, in a fascinating chain of events, emails have been uncovered that show a potential conflict of interest involving an SEC employee that could jeopardize the entire case.

In addition to this promising piece of evidence in favor of XRP within its court case, Japan announced this week that SBI Holdings, a financial services company group based in Tokyo, would now accept XRP payments. This makes the token officially mainstream in the nation.

SEC lawsuit and response

In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against XRP Labs over allegations that XRP was issued as an unregistered security. Ripple and its Co-Founders Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse are being hit with a $1.3 billion lawsuit that alleges they authorized an unregistered securities offering through the XRP sale.

The SEC claims that XRP is an unregistered security. However, SBI Holdings, the Japanese conglomerate group, has a different opinion. Since the group accepts XRP payments, the group considers Ripple a digital asset and not a security.

Potential conflict of interest

Earlier today, anti-corruption watchdog Empower Oversight retrieved and shared William Hinman's emails. Hinman is the SEC’s former director of corporate finance, and the SEC tried to protect the emails. They center around a speech Hinman made in 2018 stating that Ethereum is not a security. According to Empower Oversight, the emails show that Hinman made the speech knowing he had a conflict of interest before delivering it and was warned by the SEC’s Ethics Office that he needed to recuse himself.

The conflict of interest in question is Hinman’s ties to a law firm that supports Ethereum. After Hinman gave the speech in question, the price of Ethereum rose and Hinman ultimately rejoined the firm shortly after the XRP lawsuit was filed. According to Empower Oversight, Hinman failed to disclose his ties to the law firm at the time of the speech.

If proven true, this issue could usher in the end of the lawsuit.

The bottom line

XRP continues to grow in mainstream adoption and popularity in spite of its ongoing SEC lawsuit. This mass adoption, mixed with the big piece of evidence that could do away with the entire trial, bode well for XRP in the near- and long-term.

As the values of cryptos across the board fall, many wonder: Is crypto a good investment? Check out our investigation into that very question to find out if crypto investing is right for you!