SEC Acknowledges XRP’s Use As Fuel for Cross-Border Payments, Says Ripple General Counsel

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s general counsel, says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged XRP’s use as fuel for cross-border payments.

The SEC’s acknowledgement of XRP’s utility in Ripple’s cross-border payment product, On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), can be found in the government agency’s recent lawsuit against the San Francisco-based company.

The section of the lawsuit in question reads,

“ODL involves a transaction in which a money transmitter in a sender’s jurisdiction converts fiat currency into XRP, transfers the XRP to a recipient’s jurisdiction, and converts the XRP into the fiat currency of that locale. Typically, instead of holding XRP directly, money transmitters who may use ODL would rely on market makers in the sender’s and recipient’s jurisdictions to trade in and out of XRP in about ninety seconds or less.”

In a recent tweet, Alderoty refers to the segment as a “key point to keep in mind” going forward as Ripple prepares its case. Alderoty says the SEC’s passage on XRP as a fuel for online payments positions the asset as a unique and innovative technology.

“That is innovation. Full stop. It also happens to be the epitome of a convertible virtual currency.”

The SEC is alleging XRP was an unregistered security upon its launch and remains a security to this day.

Alderoty says Ripple’s legal team will be filing an official response soon.

“To all asking for updates on the SEC lawsuit: no surprise, the legal process takes time! We may be quiet but we are not idle. Our full legal team will announce themselves shortly and we’ll be filing our initial response to the SEC’s unproven allegations within weeks.”

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