XRP Markets Report Q2 ‘24

Ripple publishes the quarterly XRP Markets Report to voluntarily provide transparency and regular updates on the company’s views on the state of crypto markets

In the second quarter of 2024, institutional adoption remained at the forefront with the announcement that ETH spot ETFs were approved for listing in the US. Many saw this as a step in the right direction toward a more diverse and mature market, following the success of Bitcoin spot ETFs. Industry analysts predicted that this adoption may pave the way for other ETFs, such as Solana which made early advancements in an attempt to be the next spot ETF.

Later in the quarter, macroeconomic signals like inflation, interest rate expectations, and unemployment rates seemed to influence buyer and seller sentiment. BTC’s correlation to the S&P 500 climbed to 0.4 over this period (after being at 0.2 during Q4 ‘23 and Q1 ‘24). The crypto market also exhibited a “flight to quality” tendency as the industry saw smaller cap tokens experience drawdowns up to 70% while top ten market cap tokens fared better.

The overall crypto market experienced volatility after a continued rally that began in Q3 ‘23. Average daily trading volumes for BTC, ETH, and XRP fell 20% from Q1, as BTC price briefly declined below $60,000. Some reported that several factors may have influenced this including the BTC halving in April, pressure from distributions of BTC related to the decade-long Mt. Gox legal battle (>$9B), and the German government being required to sell $2.5B of BTC.

July 13 marked the one-year anniversary of Ripple’s landmark win against the SEC. This was a monumental moment for the industry resulting in regulatory clarity for XRP, which remains one of two digital assets that has been deemed not a security in the US. Ripple still awaits word from the court on the final piece of this case: a decision on remedies related to institutional sales before December 2020. However, the central ruling, that XRP isn't a security, won't change. Ripple remains confident that the Judge will approach this phase fairly.

Back in 2018, Ripple was first sued in a class action lawsuit in California. In June, the California Court dismissed all of the class claims based on both the federal and state laws. There is one state law claim that the plaintiff has brought as an individual (rather than as a class claim) that was not dismissed, but this individual claim is not material.

The 2024 US elections will be the most consequential in crypto’s history to date and will impact the future of crypto in the US. Notably, Ripple donated $25M to Fairshake, a federal super PAC committed to supporting pro-crypto, pro-innovation political candidates, bringing the company's total contribution to $50M. This is an industry-wide, bipartisan effort to ensure there is a strong future with regulatory clarity for crypto in the US. The SEC’s repeated attempts to smother the crypto industry through enforcement actions has benefitted other key global markets that have embraced responsible innovation and economic growth.

The industry secured another win against the SEC’s crusade against crypto in Q2. In June, the SEC notified Consensys that it closed its investigation into Ethereum 2.0 and will not pursue an enforcement action. The investigation focused on the Merge and whether the transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) turned Ethereum into a securities offering. Separately, Consensys filed suit against the SEC and asked a federal court to find that Consensys neither acted as a broker nor issued securities through its software offerings MetaMask Swaps and Staking.

Globally, regulators took steps in a bid to become global crypto hubs. In Asia, Hong Kong’s financial authorities released consultation conclusions on a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers. Shortly thereafter, the HKMA announced the first participants in its stablecoin issuer sandbox including Standard Chartered Bank and web3 VC firm Animoca Brands. In Latin America, the Central Bank of Brazil announced its phased approach to unveil a regulatory framework to provide clarity for token creators and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) by the end of this year. Ripple and other industry leaders shared their perspectives on crypto regulation and how to implement a comprehensive regulatory scheme for VASPs with the Central Bank.

In the Middle East, the Central Bank of the UAE issued the Payment Token Services Regulation which aims to regulate services related to stablecoin issuance, conversion, custody and transfer. This is expected to provide clarity on the operational framework for digital assets in the UAE when it comes into force next year. And last, across Europe, the flagship Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA) came into force for stablecoins on June 30, with Circle becoming the first global stablecoin issuer to fully comply with the MiCA regulatory framework by obtaining an EMI license from the Bank of France's Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority. MiCA rules for other crypto assets will be implemented in December 2024.

For this report,