On May 23, Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, announced that New York customers can now trade XRP on the crypto exchange after a nine-month suspension.
In a brief social media post, Grewal shared the update: “XRP trading on Coinbase is available again in NY. We heard you and put in the work in strong partnership with the State. And now the word can be put out— we are back up.”
Background: SEC Lawsuit and Delisting XRP
The trouble for XRP began in 2020 when the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple, the company behind XRP, accusing it of selling unregistered securities. As a result, many exchanges, including Coinbase, Bittrex, and Binance.US, delisted XRP.
In 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that secondary sales of XRP were not securities sales. Following this decision, Coinbase and other exchanges relisted XRP, bringing relief to investors and traders.
Regulatory Challenges in New York
Despite the positive court ruling, XRP faced regulatory challenges in some places, including Japan and New York. In September 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) removed Ripple Labs from its “Greenlist,” which led Coinbase to suspend XRP trading for New York residents.
Crypto firms in New York must be approved by the NYDFS to act as custodians for customer funds. After working with the NYDFS, Coinbase has now resumed XRP trading for its New York customers.
Following the news, XRP’s price rose from $0.51 to nearly $0.53. However, the token has been on a downward trend since its recent high of $0.74 on March 12, 2024.
This development marks a significant moment for XRP traders in New York, highlighting the ongoing regulatory dynamics in the cryptocurrency space.
