After the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that bitcoin and ethereum are not considered to be securities and therefore will not be regulated as such, the spotlight is now on the third-largest virtual currency by market cap – ripple (XRP).

However, the case might be already closed for XRP, as an agreement between Ripple Labs and US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signed back in 2015 was recently uncovered. As noted by one Twitter user, the precedent set in the said agreement, cannot be overruled by the SEC.

FinCEN already signed an agreement with Ripple Inc. allowing them to continue their XRP sales. If XRP is an unlicensed security then FinCEN now has to explain why they signed an agreement allowing the sale of said unlicensed securities. Never going to happen. XRP isn't a security — Richard Holland ⚡️ (@codetsunami) June 17, 2018

Ripple was forced to pay a hefty fine of $700,000 in 2015 for “selling its virtual currency, known as XRP, without registering with FinCEN, and by failing to implement and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program designed to protect its products from use by money launderers or terrorist financiers.”

The criminal charges were eventually lifted and the eventual fine settled at $450,000.

However, the fine and the subsequent settlement agreement might have proven to be more beneficial for Ripple, than the company could have ever imagined, as it clearly labels XRP as a currency and not a security.

These are the agreed facts of the settlement where FinCEN agrees with prejudice that XRP is a currency and therefore not a security. This debate is over. pic.twitter.com/QNF7mBil8z — Richard Holland ⚡️ (@codetsunami) June 17, 2018

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has also recently chimed in on the matter claiming that “Whether or not XRP is a security shall not be dictated by one lawsuit. The SEC is the governor of that. I think it is very clear that XRP is not a security. It exists independently of Ripple the company. If Ripple, the company shut down tomorrow, XRP will continue to exist.“

Cory Johnson, the Chief Market Strategist of Ripple has previously echoed a similar sentiment saying that “We absolutely are not a security. We don’t meet the standards for what a security is based on the history of court law.“

Ripple has been hard at work to prove that XRP is not a security. The company is currently battling in several class-action lawsuits, claiming XRP is a security, controlled by Ripple. In an effort to dismiss these claims, the company has hired former high-profile SEC officials to represent them in court.

Even though Ripple continues to make partnerships with high-profile institutions, the price of XRP has been sliding alongside most other virtual currencies. It was trading for around $0.51 at press time, getting close to the yearly low of $0.47, set in April.

Image Source: “Flickr”