SEC Seeks Appeal Over Ripple, Crypto Prices Plunge, EU Bitcoin ETF

Judge grants SEC request to file motion for appeal in Ripple case

Judge Analisa Torres has granted a request from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to file a motion for leave to file an interlocutory appeal in its case against Ripple Labs. The decision allowed the SEC to file a motion, on Aug. 18, requesting permission to bring a case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ripple will also be able to file an opposition to the motion. Torres ruled, on July 13, that Ripple’s XRP token is not a security when distributed in public sales, but the ruling considered XRP a security in institutional sales. The case against Ripple has been ongoing since December 2020, when the SEC sued Ripple and its executives over allegations of offering an unregistered security.

Bitcoin, Ether price slump leads to crypto bloodbath with $1B in liquidations

The Bitcoin and Ether price slide on Aug. 18 saw the top two cryptocurrencies fall to a two-month low and triggered a series of liquidations for thousands of derivative traders. The crypto bloodbath led to billions of dollars worth of hedged positions being liquidated, and several traders lost millions of dollars in a single trade. According to CoinGlass data, a total of 176,752 traders got liquidated within hours, indicating a rapid rise in price volatility just days after BTC and ETH recorded their lowest daily volatility in several years. The price function in the crypto market was attributed to several factors, including the SpaceX Bitcoin write-down and macroeconomic factors.

Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador sees bond returns soar to 70% in 2023

El Salvador, which adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender in 2021, has seen its dollar bond outperform the majority of the emerging markets with a 70% return in 2023. The massive rally of the bond has now drawn interest from several institutional giants, including JP Morgan, Eaton Vance and PGIM Fixed Income, prompting President Nayib Bukele to say, “I told you so.” Apart from the institutional giants, the likes of Lord Abbett & Co LLC, Neuberger Berman Group LLC and UBS Group AG have also added debt security since April. El Salvador paid $800 million in debt in full within the due maturing time at the start of this year, raising confidence in the country’s bonds again.