🔥 Ripple Vs. SEC - Verdict Inside 👇

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Hey, Explorers!

Welcome back to WhaleTales, your weekly digest on crypto's hottest stories.

This Week in the Crypto Space:

In a major turn of events, Ripple finally earns its long-awaited win with the SEC. Is Trump’s $148B dinner a political propaganda or a fundraising party? Coinbase turns the tables with a $20 million bounty for cybercriminals. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation is to launch its trillion-dollar security initiative for upscaling its security game.

📬 In This Week’s Top News:

• Ripple (XRP) Wins Long Battle Over SEC.

• $148B for Dinner with Trump – What’s Cooking?

• Coinbase Offers $20M Bounty to Bring Extortionists to Justice!

• Ethereum Launches Trillion-Dollar Security Program to bolster security.

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The Big Story

📢 Ripple (XRP) Wins Long Battle Over SEC 💪

The 4-year-old long battle suit finally comes to an end. SEC has officially dropped its years-long crusade against Ripple.

In a major victory, Ripple Labs, accused of offering XRP coins through unregistered sales, finally ends. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to drop the lawsuit with a Settlement Agreement of $50 million, a substantial reduction from the initial penalty of $125 million.

What was the lawsuit?

In December 2020, the SEC filed a legal action against Ripple Labs Inc. and the company’s co-founder, Christian Larsen, and former CEO Bradley Garlinghouse, both of whom were major security holders on account of “unregistered securities offering” and violation of investor protection laws to raise capital of $1.3 billion for the company’s business.

According to the allegation, the company distributed XRP tokens for non-cash services. SEC also complained that the Garlinghouse and Larsen executed a personal unregistered XRP token sale of $600 million.

Mark P. Berger, the acting Director of the SEC enforcement division, stated:

👉 Read More: The Press Release - SEC Charges Ripple and Two Executives with Conducting $1.3 Billion Unregistered Securities Offering

What really happened?

XRP, one of the leading cryptocurrencies, was created mainly for cross-border payments. Ripple Labs designed a payment structure called the Ripple Payments Network that allowed banks instant payment or transaction settlements through XRP (the native token of Ripple). It reduced transaction costs and eliminated intermediaries and making transactions faster and easier.

Ripple's founder and CEO argued that the SEC, in its lawsuit, is trying to classify XRP as “securities” like traditional stocks and bonds, which are subject to the U.S. securities laws and should be listed with the SEC, whereas it is an independent and decentralized currency.

The Big Win – what now?

The settlement was great news to XRP supporters and the broader crypto community. XRP value surged by 9% and reached a value of $2.51. The market reacted positively and highlighted the need for more transparent and clear regulatory guidelines for the crypto industry.

Market experts believe that the SEC’s withdrawal of the lawsuit may bring radical changes in the crypto industry and pave the way for improved regulatory measures that benefit both the users, community, crypto firms, and the economy. 

Why is the XRP price not shooting up?

XRP prices have skyrocketed 370% since Trump’s U.S. election, but the current market analysis reveals a downfall in the currency prices despite its long-awaited victory and initial market hype. The XRP market price is currently $2.42, and experts believe that the sudden price hikes may have resulted in the market being overbought and hence the price stagnation. 

👉 Also Read: Why Isn’t XRP Skyrocketing After Ripple’s SEC Victory? Analysts Explain.

In the Spotlight

🤑 $148B for Dinner with Trump – What’s Cooking? 🍷

Seven More Days To Go! Trump’s $TRUMP top 220 holders to attend a lavish dinner with the President, spending a boatload of $148 billion in a contest at his private golf club in Sterling, Virginia, on May 22. 

Trump’s gala dinner – Was it a campaign gimmick?

Just 2 weeks before, on April 23, the dinner proposal was posted on $TRUMP’s X account. Following the announcement, the meme coin value spiked by almost 50%, reversing an 88% decline in the weeks before. The gala dinner was pitched as “the most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION in the world,” and reserved only for the top 220 $TRUMP coin holders. The lucky “25 largest holders” will enjoy a more exclusive experience and a VIP tour.

The weeklong contest drew allegations that Trump was using his position to promote his crypto venture and family business, targeting foreign investors. Trump and his wife, Melanie, who recently launched her personal meme coin “Melanie,” were condemned for corruption by former government officials and ex-prosecutors.

Ethics watchdogs and market experts believe that Trump’s far-fetched vision of making the US the “crypto capital of the planet” is highly speculative, controversial, a personal vendetta, and could pose imminent dangers for investors and spur criminal activities.

The bidding war was a way to gain exclusive entry and direct access to Donald Trump. Furthermore, the identity of the investors was concealed as crypto wallet addresses on the leaderboard. This led to more speculation among the public. Since the “gala invitation” was open to all, even foreign nationals and governments, political leaders believe this will accelerate lobbying and unethical practices.

Who is invited?

Here are the top buyers of the Trump coin:

• Chinese crypto billionaire, Justine Sun, holds $18 million of $TRUMP coins.

• A Singapore Crypto firm called MemeCore has $17.5 million.

👉 Follow this link to know more about the $TRUMP coin dinner.

Also Read

💪 Coinbase Fights Back – Offers $20M Bounty to Bring Extortionists to Justice! 🔥

Amid a failed attempted cyber breach, cybercriminals sent a ransom note to blackmail Coinbase, demanding $20 million in Bitcoin over stolen sensitive user data.

The attackers targeted fraudulent overseas support agents, bribed the employees to provide sensitive user information, and managed to steal about 1% of the user data. They then used these data to impersonate Coinbase, trick the targeted customers, and scam them into paying through the exchange.

The breach typically involved overseas third-party contractors outside the U.S. who provided the user information to the attackers.

The perpetrators then tried to extort Coinbase to pay them a ransom of $20 million to cover up the incident. In a bold move, the company refused to comply with their demands and announced a reward of $20 million to bring down the attackers.

In response, Brian Armstrong, CEO and Co-founder of Coinbase, took to his official Twitter (X) account and made a direct statement addressing the perpetrator's response through a video.

Coinbase's CEO has responded that they are working closely with law enforcement and will soon locate the wallet addresses of the attackers and reimburse the victims. They are taking stringent actions and enhancing security measures to protect user databases, control access, and protect user funds.

🚀 Ethereum Launches Trillion-Dollar Security Program to Bolster Network Security 🛡️

On Wednesday, May 14, the Ethereum Foundation announced the launch of a Trillion Dollar Security Program to enhance its network security and performance.

The “Trillion Dollar Security Initiative” aims to create a robust foundation for Ethereum users, identify and address risks and potential weaknesses, and protect the network against impending vulnerabilities and threats.

In addition, it will create more standardized and transparent security measures that will help users to manage funds easily and securely through the platform.

The initiative is to be unfolded in three phases. In the first phase, the platform will assess its security across different verticals like users’ wallets, consensus protocol, etc. In the second phase, the Foundation will prioritize and implement major improvements. In the last phase, take initiatives to promote and educate users about the technical standards and security measures to users, developers, and other stakeholders. 

💡Good To Know

What is Cryptojacking?

If you are into crypto mining, you must know about cryptojacking.

Cryptojacking is a form of manipulating the crypto mining process by infiltrating the user’s computer or mobile device and mining cryptocurrency.

The attacker hacks the victim’s device and embeds the threat into the computer system or the mobile device used for crypto mining.

The hacker crypto-hijacks the system, trades, and earns rewards by using the victim’s device resources.

⚠️ Always DYOR: Stay Safe, invest wisely.🛡️

🌐 Market Map

The global crypto market cap on Friday, 16th May, is $3.45 trillion with🔻0.9% down over the last 24 hours.

🍿 Quick Bytes

• Telegram officially shuts down two accounts, Huione Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee, linked to fraud and cybercrimes.

• New Hampshire wins the race to become the first state to establish the Crypto Reserve Law.

• The altcoins market gains momentum as Ethereum, Solana, and PEPE prices gain traction.

• Eric Trump says he got into crypto amid political attack, calls Bitcoin “Digital Gold.”

🤡 This Week’s Meme Drop 🍟

That’s it for this week, guys!

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is educational and not intended for any investment or financial advice.