By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of Coinbase Global Inc surged by nearly 25% on Thursday, ahead of other cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies, following a landmark legal victory in a closely-watched lawsuit involving blockchain company Ripple Labs Inc.
A U.S. District Judge ruled on Thursday that Ripple Labs did not violate federal securities law by selling its XRP token on public exchanges, a decision that sent the value of the token soaring by as much as 74%.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had accused Ripple Labs and its current and former chief executives of selling unregistered securities when conducting a $1.3 billion offering for XRP, which was created in 2012.
It was the first time a U.S. judge had found against the SEC where the agency has alleged a crypto token is a security and subject to its strict investor protection rules, buoying optimism over the future of the crypto market.
Shares in Coinbase, which is also embroiled in litigation with the SEC over its trading of crypto tokens, surged 24.5% on Thursday following the decision, finishing at $107. Riot Platforms Inc jumped 15%, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc rose 14.5%, and Microstrategy Inc gained 11.7%. Hut 8 Mining Corp added 17.7%.
Coinbase said it would allow trading of the XRP token again on its platform in line with the court ruling. “We’ve read Judge [Analisa] Torres’ thoughtful decision. We’ve carefully reviewed our analysis. It’s time to relist,” Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal said on Twitter.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, was last up 4.1% at 31,584 while Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 6.43% to $1,993.3.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; editing by Michelle Price and Deepa Babington)
