XRP is not a security, Celsius CEO arrested on criminal charges…

top stories of the week

In SEC Case Against Ripple, Judge Rules XRP Is Not a Security

Ripple Labs won in New York District Court on July 13, with Judge Analisa Torres ruling in part in the company’s favor in a case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2020. According to the filing, Judge Torres granted summary judgment in favor of Ripple Labs, ruling that XRP tokens are not securities, but only applicable to programmatic sales on digital asset exchanges. Within minutes of the news, the price of XRP skyrocketed. The case has been ongoing since December 2020, when the SEC sued Ripple and two of its executives for offering unregistered securities. Despite the positive outcome, some lawyers warned against celebrating too soon, noting that the ruling was partial and did not set a precedent. Additionally, the SEC may appeal the decision, which could lead to a higher court overturning the decision.

XRP Becomes Fourth Largest Cryptocurrency After Ripple Partially Beats SEC

XRP has become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization this week following Ripple’s partial victory over the SEC. According to TradingView, the price of XRP surged 98% in the hours after the decision was released, peaking at $0.93. Meanwhile, its market value jumped $21.2 billion to a new yearly high of $46.1 billion. The new ruling also sparked a new wave of relisting activity on major U.S. exchanges, with Coinbase, Kraken and iTrustCapital all allowing the token to be traded on their platforms.

Elsel Networks Fined $4.7B by FTC, CEO Arrested on Criminal Fraud Charges

U.S. authorities have announced charges against the former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, on charges including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud. Former Chief Revenue Officer Roni Cohen-Pavon and Mashinsky will also face charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, market manipulation and wire fraud related to manipulating the price of Celsius tokens. Authorities arrested Mashinski as part of an indictment that includes seven criminal counts. Meanwhile, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a complaint and $4.7 billion fine against Celsius, alleging that its co-founder promoted the platform as a “safe place” for consumers to store cryptocurrencies while misappropriating more than $4 billion in consumer spending. assets. The SEC also filed a lawsuit against the company based on similar allegations. While Celsius is cooperating with regulators, Mashinski has pleaded not guilty to charges of misleading customers and exaggerating the CEL token.

Europe’s first spot bitcoin ETF expected to debut in 2023 after a year-long delay

Europe’s first spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is due to launch later this year after a long delay. The Bitcoin ETF created by London-based Jacobi Asset Management was originally scheduled to debut in July 2022, but was delayed due to market conditions. The asset manager now sees a gradual shift in demand compared to 2022. Related developments were also seen this week in Argentina, which ushered in its first bitcoin futures contract. According to Matba Rofex, the trading platform behind the investment vehicle, it is the first bitcoin futures contract in Latin America.

Binance cuts 1,000 jobs

Binance has reportedly laid off hundreds of employees in recent weeks. According to former employees, the layoffs are global and customer service staff have been severely affected, especially in India. Including this week’s layoffs, more than 1,000 employees at the exchange have lost their jobs. Before the layoffs, Binance’s global headcount was estimated at 8,000. The restructuring could cost Binance more than a third of its workforce. The cryptocurrency exchange announced a 20% layoff on May 31, claiming it was not layoffs but a reallocation of resources amid the ongoing U.S. crackdown. According to reports, the most persistent challenge facing Binance is the ongoing investigation of its activities and executives by the U.S. Department of Justice.

winners and losers

Bitcoin this weekend (bitcoin) lie in $30,227Ether (Ethereum) exist $1,923 and Ripple exist $0.72.total market cap $1.21 trillion, according to to CoinMarketCap.

Among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoins this week are XRP (Ripple) 54.20%, stellar (XLM) 37.88% and Synthetix (SNX) It was 31.92%.

The three altcoins that fell the most this week were eCash (Check) -21.82%, Bitcoin SV (BSV) -16.75% and Maker (MKR) was -7.87%.

For more on cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

most memorable quote

“This (Ripple ruling) is a big deal. (…) Since this case was filed, it’s clear that it’s going to have an impact on the industry.”

sheila warrenCEO of Cryptocurrency Innovation Council

“I do think BlackRock, Invesco (and) the ETF provider group are a real signal that adoption is coming.”

Mike NovogratzFounder and CEO of Galaxy Digital

“I think the next encryption cycle will be driven by consumer applications powered by encryption, but users won’t know it’s encryption unless they look carefully.”

0x Designerpseudonym Web3 UI/UX designer

“XRP is not a security. This win for Ripple is a win for the industry and a step toward regulatory transparency in the US.”

Ripple Labsdeveloper of the Ripple payment protocol

“We expect Bitcoin’s price to repeat its historical pattern of rising before and after each Bitcoin halving.”

Berenberg Capital Marketsa New York-based investment firm

“I think that if we want bitcoin to be more than just payments, it needs more scaling solutions.”

Vitalik ButerinCo-Founder of Ethereum

forecast for the week

Can XRP Price Hit $1?Watch these levels next

The price of XRP surged after a federal court ruling declared that sales of XRP on cryptocurrency exchanges complied with U.S. securities laws. The XRP/USD pair hit a weekly high of $0.93, the highest level since December 2021.

Certain indicators suggest that XRP’s continued price gains may not be just a short-term reaction to good news from Ripple. For example, the duration of XRP’s surge coincided with a 10-month high in its trading volume.

The number of XRP whale transactions (wallets holding more than $100,000) climbed to the highest level in 2023, indicating that the wealthiest investors are supporting XRP’s rise. “If key whale and shark addresses are increasing the supply going into the pump, then that’s a good sign that the pump may just be starting,” said Brian Q, an aliased analyst at data analytics platform Santiment.

From a technical standpoint, XRP could test the key $1 level in the coming days, but its potential for continued gains looks weak for the time being. If the XRP price breaks decisively above $1, the next price target for September could be closer to $1.35.

The most talked about FUD this week

Blockchain Association Calls for SEC Investigation into Prometheum’s Alleged ‘Sweetheart’ Deal

The Blockchain Association has submitted a letter to the US SEC Calls for an investigation into cryptocurrency firm Prometheum. In the letter, the Blockchain Association asked the regulator to review FINRA’s approval of Prometheum’s special purpose broker-dealer license. The group also raised concerns about the way co-chief executive Aaron Kaplan testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee in June. Prometheum has reportedly changed its public stance from calling for clear SEC regulation to claiming that “a clear path to register digital assets exists without legislation” in the country.

New York Prosecutors Charge Hackers With Solana Exchange Worth $9M

A former security engineer for an international technology company has been arrested and charged for allegedly exploiting a smart contract vulnerability to steal $9 million in cryptocurrency from a Solana-based decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. The attack, carried out in July 2022, involved exploiting a vulnerability in the exchange’s smart contracts to generate inflated fees through flash loans. The exploiters later returned most of the funds, but were allowed to keep $1.6 million as a white hat bounty. According to the indictment, cryptocurrency attorney Orlando Cosme said on Twitter that “the DOJ will bring criminal charges if a person knowingly uses the protocol in a way that it was not ‘intended’ to be used.”

Algorand’s decentralized lending protocol Algofi to shut down by year’s end

Algofi, a lending protocol built on Algorand, a decentralized finance blockchain, is shutting down. According to the July 11 announcement, the developers “have not wavered in their faith in the strength of Algorand technology and the novel consensus algorithm.” The liquidity mining program will stop and various collaterals will drop to 0% until December. The total value locked in the Algofi protocol is about $25 million, down from a peak of $135 million in February.

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editorial staff

Writers and reporters at Cointelegraph Magazine contributed to this article.