The The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Ripple of selling unregistered securities.
Binance US decided to suspend all XRP trading on its platform, according to a report making it the 14th exchange to do so after Ripple got hit with a lawsuit by the US SEC commission for selling unregistered XRP Tokens.
In a formal announcement made yesterday, Binance.US gave detailed instructions for investors. “Binance.US users will not be able to deposit XRP as of January 13, 2021 at 10am EST. XRP withdrawals will not be affected at this time.”
The exchange also confirmed that XRP withdrawals require a Tag/Memo. They also reassured traders who have recently purchased XRP with funds deposited via ACH/Debit Card that their funds will be available to withdraw “after this holding period expires.”
Binance.US also said that delisting will not affect users from claiming their Spark (FLR) Token Distribution in 2021. They also promised that “further details will be provided for how to claim distribution.”
Ripple and two of its executives are targeted by SEC
According to the SEC’s complaint, Ripple; Christian Larsen, the company’s co-founder, executive chairman of its board, and former CEO; and Bradley Garlinghouse, the company’s current CEO, raised capital to finance the company’s business. The complaint alleges that “Ripple raised funds, beginning in 2013, through the sale of digital assets known as XRP in an unregistered securities offering to investors in the U.S. and worldwide.
The suit also charges that Larsen and Garlinghouse effected personal unregistered sales of XRP totaling approximately $600 million.
Ripple fights back
In a statement, Ripple accused the SEC of regulatory overreach: “The SEC’s decision to file this action is not just about Ripple, it is an attack on the entire crypto industry here in the United States,” they assert.
“We’ve always said that there is a dangerous lack of regulatory clarity for crypto in the U.S.,” they claim. The company also said the lawsuit has “already affected countless innocent XRP retail holders with no connection to Ripple.”
The price of the digital asset has plummeted in the wake of the SEC’s actions.