Cryptocurrency Lawsuit Impact: Bitcoin Price Drops Below $50k Amid Regulatory Uncertainty
Ripple faced a $125 million penalty, and Bitcoin dipped below $50,000 for the first time in half a year amidst widespread market uncertainty. Additionally, Vice President Kamala Harris’s team initiated efforts to attract crypto voters, while Brazil greenlit the first Solana ETF.
In the Ripple v. SEC case, Judge Analisa Torres issued the final verdict on August 7, levying a $125 million fine on Ripple for violating securities laws through XRP sales to institutions. This marked the end of the 45-month legal battle without any appeals.
The imposed fine was significantly lower than the SEC’s proposed $2 billion but notably higher than Ripple’s suggested $10 million. Despite this, Ripple viewed it as a partial win, leading to a surge in XRP value to around $0.65 shortly after the ruling. Two days post the decision, Ripple disclosed the commencement of private beta testing for its proprietary Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin on the Ethereum and XRPL mainnets.
Bitcoin and the broader crypto market experienced their most substantial decline of the year last week. On August 5, Bitcoin plummeted below $50,000 for the first time in six months, with liquidations exceeding $1 billion across the market. Concurrently, reports surfaced of Bitcoin whales accumulating $23 billion in BTC within a month. Despite the downturn, Bitcoin eventually bounced back to the $60,000 level as the market recovered. CryptoQuant’s Ki Young Ju suggested that Bitcoin could potentially reach a new all-time high if it maintains levels above $45,000.
In a bid to engage crypto voters, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on August 6. Following this decision, Harris’s odds of winning the election surged from 3% to 46% on Polymarket, surpassing Republican Donald Trump in the polls. Reports also indicated that Democratic stakeholders launched the “Crypto for Harris” campaign to interact with crypto industry leaders on pro-crypto policies. A virtual crypto roundtable meeting took place on August 8, although Harris did not attend, leaving Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss perplexed.
In Brazil, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission approved the launch of the first Solana ETF last week, although the product remains in a pre-operational phase pending approval from Brazil’s stock exchange, B3.
Furthermore, Judge Peter Castel ruled for FTX and Alameda Research to pay $12.7 billion to creditors as part of their settlement with the CFTC, with a cessation of services related to crypto trading. Several startups secured substantial funding recently, including Andrena ($18 million), Vessel ($10 million), Cartridge ($7.5 million), and Pentagon Games ($6 million). CEHV founder Adam Cochran discussed the slowdown in crypto investments by VCs, noting a preference for breakout trends over high-risk moonshots.
