Ripple Pushes SEC to Redraw the Line Between Crypto and Stocks
Ripple, the for-profit blockchain company closely associated with XRP, the crypto coin, has a history with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In December 2020, just when the world was recovering from the ravages of COVID, the regulator sued Ripple, claiming they sold an unregistered security in XRP, raising billions in the process.
The blockchain company responded, but it took more than four years before the court agreed with their argument. As of January 13, XRP crypto can be classified as a commodity, just like Bitcoin, but depending on how it is sold. Ripple not allowing the SEC to bully them shaped how US crypto exchanges handle tokens today.
Now, in yet another effort to push for more crypto clarity, Ripple asked the US SEC to treat crypto tokens separately from securities transactions. In a letter sent to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, Ripple continues to advocate for what its lawyers say is “fit-for-purpose” crypto regulation.
BREAKING: @Ripple released a new letter, to the SEC Crypto Task Force, advocating for transparent and rights-based crypto regulation!
IT‘S HAPPENING
— JackTheRippler © (@RippleXrpie) January 12, 2026
The XRP USD price didn’t swing, and is presently steady above the psychological $2 level. Notably, the XRP price has reversed gains of January 5, but is firm above the sideways chop of the second half of December 2025.
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What Is Ripple Actually Asking the SEC to Do?
It remains to be seen whether the XRP USD price will tick higher, even reclaiming January 2026 highs of around $2.40. The downtrend remains, but any positive news from Ripple could, in a way, support XRP crypto and indirectly, the next cryptos to explode.
For what’s clear, what Ripple is advocating for is not a random policy debate. Ripple spent years fighting the SEC in court, and that fight wasn’t for nothing. From the court’s ruling, crypto founders can have an idea of how to proceed without violating the US SEC Securities laws.
From their letter, Ripple wants a clean rule: The crypto asset itself is not the same thing as the investment contract used to sell it. Think of it like gold. Gold is just a metal, but selling gold through a shady investment scheme can still break the law.
That crypto trades in active secondary markets does not provide an independent jurisdictional determinant for the SEC. Trading velocity is a function of market structure and maturity, not legal classification. There are many mature markets, gold and silver included, that exhibit high-volume secondary market trading and rapid price discovery for assets, and yet spot trading in those assets is not a securities transaction.”
In crypto terms, Ripple argues that XRP should not change its legal nature based on who sells it or where. Courts already agreed in part, ruling that XRP trades on public exchanges were not securities, while some institutional sales were. That split ruling created confusion for everyday buyers. Ripple now wants the SEC to lock in a clearer standard, so exchanges know what they can list without fear.
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What’s Next For XRP Holders and Crypto Exchanges In the US?
Regulatory clarity changes behavior fast. After the US SEC ended its case and Ripple agreed to a $125M settlement, institutions stepped in. As 99Bitcoins reported, the settlement closed one of crypto’s longest legal battles.
When rules feel stable, big players act. Funds like Galaxy Digital added XRP exposure, and US exchanges felt safer keeping XRP trading pairs live. However, for regular investors, this affects access. Clear rules reduce surprise delistings and sudden trading halts, a liquidity cushion that makes trading seamless.
JUST IN:
GALAXY $GLXY OWNS $15 MILLION IN $XRP! pic.twitter.com/YdPz6K55V9
— Good Evening Crypto (@AbsGEC) August 5, 2025
The good news is that the US SEC today looks different from what it did three years ago. New leadership dropped or softened more than ten crypto enforcement actions. Lawmakers also push for clearer crypto market structure rules.
Ripple’s request lines up with those efforts. It also echoes positions taken by Coinbase and others backing a broader US crypto regulation bill. If the SEC accepts this framing, other tokens, including top Solana meme coins, benefit. Assets like Solana, Cardano, and Ethereum, which at one point the US SEC claimed were securities, all depend on the same basic question: Is the token itself a security, or just the way it was sold?
Clear rules do not lock prices in place. XRP already surged after the settlement, and momentum traders drive short-term moves. If there is more clarity, the XRP price could break $3, ticking to all-time highs in no time.
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The post Ripple Pushes SEC to Redraw the Line Between Crypto and Stocks appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
