Cryptocurrency exchange Gatehub announced Tuesday that it’s not going to delist XRP in spite of Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In its Jan. 12 announcement, the exchange says that it’s going to do away with the controversial cryptocurrency only if is deemed a security by the court.
XRP has found its allies
Because of SEC’s charges against Ripple, major exchanges and asset managers have rushed to ditch XRP.
Gatehub, in turn, claims that XRP is a utility token, and the exchange itself hasn’t witnessed any “improper conduct” on Ripple’s side:
“We would not have proceeded to build a business within the XRP Ledger ecosystem if the SEC had issued any guidance whatsoever that XRP would be treated as an unregistered “security.” And we would have refused to do business with Ripple or anyone at Ripple who, in our judgment, engaged in fraudulent market practices.”
However, if Ripple executives indeed defrauded investors, the post claims that they have to disgorge their ill-gotten gains:
“If Ripple and/or its senior executives defrauded individual investors, they should be subject to appropriate enforcement actions, and be forced to disgorge any ill-gotten gains.”
Earlier this month, Uphold made a similar decision not to halt XRP trading, with the exchange’s CEO, J.P Theriot, comparing the SEC to a lion that could hurt investors:
“Now we have to see whether the lion gets up and finishes the job, or returns its attention to more likely (and deserving) next meals.”
Suspensions and delistings are in the offing
In the meantime, a slew of exchanges is set to suspend XRP trading or delist the token this month, significantly drying up its liquidity.
Binance.US has just announced that its users will not be able to deposit XRP starting from Jan. 13.
Arman Shirinyan
