Weekly news digest: Bitcoin is getting closer to 30,000, exchanges are accelerating, and the SEC is fighting against Ripple

On Sunday, December 27, the price of bitcoin broke the new psychological barrier - $28,000. This sparked a new wave of excitement in cryptocurrency exchanges and investment-related funds. But the popularity of cryptocurrencies also has a dark side: the American regulator brought an action against Ripple, and lawyers believe that the company can receive a large fine.

Confident growth within a week

During these 7 days, bitcoin was tending upward: on Monday, its price fell below $ 23,000 and then began to rise. The record of the week was $ 28,000, the first cryptocurrency reached it on Sunday. The total increase over this week was 14.4%.

The success of Bitcoin always accompanies new records of exchanges, miners, and investment funds. Now Grayscale crypto funds grew by $500 million in one day; open interest in bitcoin futures on the CME exchange reached $ 1.47 billion (it is also an absolute record), and the volume of transactions in stablecoins (according to The Block) exceeded $ 1 trillion. Exmo, which was recently hacked, recovered very quickly and reopened for deposits and withdrawals.

In countries where mining is prohibited, the fight against miners has intensified. So, in Abkhazia, it was decided to shut down all mining farms until December 29, including legal ones. And in Georgia, an illegally operating mining farm was found on the territory of a hotel in Mestia.

SEC vs Ripple

Another big sensation was the lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the blockchain company Ripple (California).

A cause of action: Ripple has been selling unregistered securities for seven years. XPR (Ripple’s tokens) were recognized as such. We recall that this cryptocurrency gained wide popularity and for some time entered the TOP-3, along with Bitcoin and Ethreum.

As the lawyers comment, the SEC is in a strong position: Ripple is registered in the United States and falls under the jurisdiction of the country. The most likely result of the lawsuit is a large fine for the company and its founders personally. The lawsuit has already affected Ripple: in a number of large platforms (Galaxy Digital, Bitstamp, and others) sale of XPR to US residents has been canceled.

Many blockchain companies from the US and Europe treat “the Ripple case” as a precedent that will influence the regulation of cryptocurrencies around the world. Probably, in the near future, we will have a new round of discussion about the legislative status of cryptocurrencies and their taxation.

Is it legal to buy cryptocurrencies in Russia? Read in one of the previous articles of our blog.