XRP
Ripple is reportedly nearing an agreement with the SEC for a late 2020 lawsuit to end, but discussions are still ongoing and this time, $ETH has reportedly entered the picture. IBTimes US

KEY POINTS

  • The SEC is reportedly comparing $XRP and $ETH to determine if the former now has the same 'commodity' vibes as Ethereum
  • $XRP holders were outraged over the report, saying it was just pushing an 'anti-XRP' narrative
  • $XRP saw a slight climb on the news and is significantly up in the year as opposed to $ETH

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly continuously weighing its case against fintech firm Ripple, and among the main discussions is whether the XRP token can be proven as more of a commodity than a security.

A previous ruling designated the XRP Ledger's native cryptocurrency as a non-security when offered on exchanges, but the question remains on whether institutional sales constitute a security transaction or not.

Discussions Centered on Comparing $XRP and $ETH to Determine Status: Report

On Thursday, journalist Charles Gasparino followed up on Eleanor Terrett's report Wednesday that the SEC may soon reach an agreement with Ripple to end the lawsuit filed late in 2020.

One of the pressing points of the ongoing settlement negotiations is on the XRP coin's legal status, as per Gasparino, and Ethereum, the world's second-largest crypto asset, is reportedly being used as an example.

"ETH was obviously issued as an ICO (initial coin offering); its characteristics on issuance was no different than XRP—both used to finance the buildout of a platform," he wrote.

While the two major altcoins had similar issuance structures, Ripple was sued by the SEC and Ethereum was not "because ETH had since morphed into a commodity," he noted.

At this point, the SEC is in discussion with Ripple, the XRP token's largest known corporate holder, to determine whether XRP has also evolved into a commodity as ETH has, he added.

$XRP Holders Blast Gasparino Over 'Scoop'

As soon as Gasparino's post started spreading on X, the XRP Army, long-time holders of the XRP token, took to the comments section to criticize the journalist for seemingly insisting that XRP is a security.

"I can almost guarantee this is not a 'scoop.' Rather it's Charlie trying to push his narrative (anti-XRP, anti-Torres ruling, Ethgate denying, etc.)," one user said.

Rachel, another XRP holder, said Gasparino should "stay out of crypto" as he is supposedly not good at covering the industry.

Another XRP holder said there shouldn't be any comparison between XRP and ETH since the XRP Ledger "was not built on the sales of XRP" and Ripple "did not create XRP to use as a funding mechanism" to develop the ledger.

$XRP Largely Unmoved by Report

Despite displeased responses to the supposed developments around the SEC case against Ripple, XRP was largely unmoved and seemed to brush off Ethereum comparisons.

The crypto asset is up 2.7% in the day and is trading at around $2.30 as of early Friday.

XRP price early March 14 2025
$XRP price early March 14, 2025 IBTimes US

The altcoin has had volatile days in recent weeks, as did other crypto assets that were affected by financial markets reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.

On the other hand, XRP remains up by a stellar 230% in the last 12 months. By comparison, ETH is down 50% in the year and has been on a 25% downturn in the past 30 days.

Originally published on IBTimes