The SEC and Ripple have been in a legal dispute since 2020. The securities exchange authority is tightening its course and demanding two billion dollars.

It's going to be expensive: The American financial regulator demands two billion dollars from Ripple Labs, the company behind the cryptocurrency Ripple. The charge, as always with the SEC: the alleged sale of unauthorized securities.

XRP co-founder Chris Larsen said, "The fact that the SEC is only putting itself above the law and leaving the U.S. behind other G20 countries should not go unnoticed in an election year."

Since 2020, therefore, Ripple Labs and the Securities Exchange Authority have been in court. In mid-July 2023, the court decided in the benefit of both parties.

Trading XRP on exchanges is not covered by securities laws, but selling to institutional investors is. This happened in billions. The SEC appealed. Already in its mid-2022s, it cost Ripple dispute around $100 million.

By January 2024 the SEC tightened its course already and demanded Ripple hand over key financial documents. The political situation for crypto in the US is unclear.

The SEC's actions have been criticized time and again, the lack of a clear legal framework, even judicial arbitrariness.

For SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, his all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin securities. He has said so repeatedly in interviews.

Ripple was founded in 2012 and now ranks sixth most valuable cryptocurrencies.

The exchange rate stands at 65 US cents with a market capitalization of $35 billion. The cryptocurrency's goal: to revolutionize the banking industry.

However, Ripple is considered a highly centralized project. Ripple has had some setbacks recently, not only because of the ongoing legal dispute.