Despite the ongoing litigation between Ripple (XRP) and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the digital currency has seen significant growth on the international stage.
Ceo of Ripple Brad Garlinghouse took to Twitter on December 22 to announce a year between the SEC filing a lawsuit against Ripple, Chris Larsen, and himself when the regulator declared that XRP, a publicly-traded cryptocurrency, should have been registered as a security.
The CEO tweeted:
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“One year ago today, the @SECgov filed a lawsuit against @Ripple, @chrislarsenSF, and me, alleging that XRP – a public crypto that has been trading on the open market since 2013 – should have been registered as a security.”
Garlinghouse emphasized in his thread that what he stated before remains true today: this is an attack on crypto in the United States, not just Ripple. Some he noted have accepted the SEC’s charges at face value and assumed it was a one-time occurrence, but that is no longer the case.
2021 XRP’s best-ever year
Nevertheless, despite the current legal battle, Garlinghouse added the year 2021 has been hailed as a breakthrough year for the cryptocurrency industry.
In particular, the CEO revealed that 2021 has been XRPs strongest ever year, with RippleNet experiencing its best year to date with enormous growth globally. Notably, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) is now accessible to over 20 countries worldwide for their payment needs.
He also highlighted that transactions via RippleNet have more than doubled since the third quarter of 2020. ODL transactions have increased by 130 % quarter over quarter, and ODL transactions accounted for 25% of total dollar volume throughout the network in the third quarter.
Finally, while XRP’s ODL flows in the United States have been mostly suspended due to regulatory ambiguity, worldwide ODL volume has continued to increase, with volume increasing by more than 25 times since the third quarter of last year.
On the matter, Garlinhouse declared:
“Proud to say it was @Ripple’s strongest year ever (XRP-based On-Demand Liquidity payments account for 25% of $ volume across RippleNet, and ODL txns are up 25x from Q3 2020, and 130% QoQ).”
Crypto is the “Wild West”
Elsewhere, on the SEC calling cryptocurrency the “Wild West,” he labeled it a “farce” since most crypto firms comply with financial regulations worldwide. Furthermore, he argued regulators shouldn’t penalize businesses for requesting clarification and consistency in the application of regulations.
“Calling crypto the “Wild West” is a farce – most are complying with financial regulators globally. This industry shouldn’t be punished for asking for regulatory clarity & regulation that is consistently applied with a level playing field,” he said.
Finally, it was stated that the Chairman of SEC Gary Gensler wants to broaden the organization’s scope, adopting a stridently anti-crypto tone, according to the Garlinghouse.
Although many American firms worked together to develop Web2, he questioned whether Web3 would be the same with some companies already relocating outside of the United States.