The crypto asset XRP faced headwinds in the third quarter of 2023, according to a report published by San Francisco-based Ripple Labs. However, progress continues across metrics for the XRP Ledger and ecosystem. The report highlights two major court victories in California for Ripple Labs against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In July, the court ruled that XRP is not a security as a matter of law. In October, the court dismissed all remaining charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen. Ripple states this dismissal was made “with prejudice,” meaning the decision is final, and the SEC cannot bring those claims again. No settlement was involved, and there will be no trial against the individuals.
This stunning capitulation by the SEC was a dismissal ‘with prejudice,’ meaning this decision is final and the SEC cannot later try and bring those claims again, said the report.
The report shows XRP’s price declined to 90-day lows in volatility of around 40% by the end of the quarter. Trading activity predominantly occurred on major non-US exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Upbit. Average daily trading volume sank to a four-year low of $300-400 million per day following a spike to $4 billion on the day of the July court decision. The majority of the volume was stablecoin trading, especially USDT pairs.
Ripple’s XRP Ledger Continues Advancements
Despite market challenges, developers continue building on the XRP Ledger mainnet. The report highlights two significant features proposed this quarter to enhance trust and safety for issued assets. First is XLS-30d AMM, adding a non-custodial automated market maker (AMM) to the Ledger’s decentralized exchange. This aims to improve the pricing and availability of tokenized assets.
Second is XLS-38d, which enables a bi-directional cross-chain bridge between XRPL Mainnet and Sidechains. This is seen as a key step for interoperability. On-chain activity metrics mostly declined from last quarter, but decentralized exchange trading volume increased over 3X to $218 million as daily volume spiked on several days. The DEX has operated since the Ledger’s launch in 2012.
Despite recent challenges, the report paints an optimistic outlook for XRP and its ecosystem. Ripple states, “progress continues across metrics for the XRP Ledger and ecosystem.”
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