A heated debate has erupted in the crypto community over whether Ripple has the right to sell its XRP tokens. This controversy was sparked by a recent social media exchange between Ripple supporter Bill Morgan and analyst Darkhorse.
Morgan insisted there’s nothing legally preventing Ripple from selling XRP it owns. He said the real issue is whether Ripple needs to register XRP sales and offers with the SEC in the US. Morgan said if Ripple sells XRP programmatically, like in the past, it doesn’t need SEC registration.
Darkhorse had referenced a July 2023 ruling by Judge Analisa Torres that supposedly barred Ripple from selling XRP. Morgan countered that legally, Ripple can sell its XRP and these sales shouldn’t be considered investment contracts under US securities law.
Morgan stressed nothing is stopping Ripple from selling its XRP, the only question is if Ripple must register the sales with the SEC. Another user highlighted how Judge Torres’ decision means Ripple’s XRP sales could now be securities transactions.
This is because Ripple’s XRP involvement is now public knowledge, so expectations of increased value from Ripple’s activities are reasonable. Before, the lack of evidence about Ripple’s role meant the sales weren’t securities transactions.
In response, Morgan suggested that given XRP’s poor price performance in the last 5 years, expecting profits from Ripple’s efforts is not reasonable. He implied those buying XRP after July 13 expecting gains from Ripple may be irrational.
The debate comes as Ripple just transferred 80 million XRP worth $46 million to an unknown wallet. This has sparked speculation in the XRP community. Amidst this, XRP’s price has fluctuated, declining 1.5% in 24 hours but rising 2.6% in the last week. XRP’s trading volume has also dipped from over $1 billion to $827 million.
