In a recent development, a fervent member of the XRP community, Sherrie, has stepped forward to address the swirling accusations against Ripple. These allegations suggest that the cryptocurrency giant manipulated the price of its XRP token through the engagement with GSR, a renowned global crypto market maker, to deploy trading bots for institutional sales.
Understanding the Allegations and Ripple’s Stance
The controversy ignited after documents surfaced, hinting at Ripple’s involvement with GSR to potentially influence the market price of XRP. Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer was quick to counter these claims, stating that the company has ceased such practices.
Sherrie’s response to the allegations sheds light on Ripple’s market activities, drawing a parallel to the common financial strategies employed by businesses worldwide. According to her, Ripple’s actions mirror those of any organization aiming to fundraise through market participation without veering into manipulation territory.
Differentiating Between Manipulation and Market Dynamics
Delving deeper, Sherrie elaborated on the nuances between manipulation and natural market causation. She employed the analogy of gravitational force to explain how market forces naturally dictate price variations, arguing that Ripple’s sales of XRP were geared towards fundraising rather than deliberately affecting its market price.
Furthermore, Sherrie pointed out Ripple’s legal triumphs over the SEC’s charges of selling unregistered securities, suggesting these victories bolster Ripple’s claims of conducting its operations with utmost transparency.
The Controversy Unraveled
The debate around Ripple’s market conduct intensified following an exposé by a crypto analyst known as Darkhorse. His scrutiny into court documents from the SEC vs. Ripple case revealed potential instructions from Ripple to GSR Markets for employing trading bots in strategies that might have swayed XRP’s price during 2015 and 2016.
A pivotal graph showcasing the correlation between GSR’s net XRP sales and the XRP/USD price movements became a central piece of evidence in these discussions. Darkhorse outlined a pattern where Ripple seemed to orchestrate preemptive buying sprees by signaling upcoming news to GSR, thereby sparking price rallies.
The XRP community, including noted figures like Wrathof Kahneman, has been keenly observing these developments. Ripple’s executives, including CTO Schwartz, reiterated the discontinuation of XRP’s programmatic sales since 2019, emphasizing their commitment to transparency in their quarterly reports.
