The cryptocurrency XRP hit $1.23 Saturday (Oct. 9), up by over 9% in 24 hours, while its blockchain payments network Ripple is in the middle of an ongoing courtroom drama with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Decrypt reported.
Ripple, a blockchain-based digital payment network and protocol, sidesteps blockchain mining by instead using a network of bank-owned networks to confirm transactions. XRP is the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to the report.
See also: Ripple Proposes New XRP Ledger Tools for Smart Contracts
XRP’s weekend spike in prices could be a confidence indicator that Ripple’s legal issues are manageable. The blockchain payment network has gone toe-to-toe with the SEC since December over allegations that Ripple made $1.38 billion by selling XRP as an unregistered security. Ripple, however, maintains that the sales were not in the realm of securities offerings, the report stated.
Last week, Ripple took issue with the SEC and filed a letter with U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn alleging that the watchdog agency didn’t answer most of Ripple’s 30,000 requests for admission (RFAs) since the case began, according to the report. RFAs are “yes or no” questions that are intended to push lawsuits forward clearing anything murky.
Read also: Ripple Could Seek IPO Following SEC Settlement
The SEC pointed to the RFAs as being unreasonable due to the volume and said it took officials more than 100 hours to answer roughly 254 of them, according to the report.
At the center of the debate is a speech by SEC Director of the Division of Corporate Finance Bill Hinman. Ripple’s legal team has suggested that wording from the SEC’s privilege log that could be pertinent to the case, the report stated.
Netburn sided with Ripple Friday (Oct. 8), deciding to include the email chain in her review. The timing of a possible outcome is unclear, the report stated.
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