What’s behind XRP’s huge surge? 

Ripple (XRP) exploded nearly 50% last week after its lawyers filed a motion for summary judgment on its ongoing legal battle with the SEC. 

In other words, Ripple’s asking the court to make a decision now instead of going forward with a trial. It’s a sign XRP believes the facts of the case are enough for the court to rule in its favor… and investors took note.  

The backstory

For nearly two years, Ripple has been fighting a lawsuit from the SEC, which accused its management team of failing to register XRP as a security… failing to disclose the necessary security-related financial documents… and that it illegally sold $1.3 billion in unregistered securities.

In short, the SEC’s lawsuit is all about determining whether XRP is, in fact, a security. As I’ve mentioned before, crypto is still in a “gray area”… as companies and regulators argue over whether or not each specific cryptocurrency should be legally classified as a security.

And right now, it looks like Ripple has the upper hand… although its court motion has yet to be granted or denied.

In an interview on Fox Business last week, CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the SEC is “grossly overreaching its authority” and that it’s “cuckoo for cocoa puffs.” (In other words, he believes there’s no chance the SEC can prove its case.)

Big implications for crypto’s future

Regardless of how you feel about crypto regulations, it’s important to keep tabs on their development. They’re going to play a critical role shaping the future for investors. 

If Ripple wins its case, the SEC will likely have to go back to the drawing board with its arguments that cryptocurrencies are securities. But if the SEC wins, crypto investors (and crypto-related companies) will face a ton of extra hurdles going forward.

South Korea seizes crypto assets

A new report released last week shows South Korea’s government confiscated $180 million worth of cryptocurrencies from individuals over the past two years.

Crossing the line?

South Korea is targeting citizens who own crypto… but also have outstanding tax debts. In some cases, the government went into people’s brokerage accounts, sold their positions for millions of dollars in won (South Korea’s currency), and sent the money to a government account.

It’s a scary situation.

Think about it… What if you were behind on your taxes, and the US government could take control of your accounts and sell your financial assets? 

And South Korea’s current laws allow the government to do this. Meanwhile, South Korea is one of the world’s cryptocurrency hotspots… with a market worth over $45 billion and more than 15 million registered crypto accounts.

Even scarier… the government can make serious dough off its citizens by effectively stealing their crypto assets.

A hopeful sign for South Korea’s crypto users

In March, South Korea elected a new President, Yoon Suk-Yeol, who vowed to “overhaul regulations that are far from reality and unreasonable.” As part of his planned changes, the new president wants to make the existing laws more crypto friendly. 

The president took measures in July to cancel the existing 20% tax on capital gains from cryptocurrency transactions. 

South Korea’s tax laws are disturbing… but the new President is working to peel back the harsh laws and replace them with more favorable ones that will help grow the country’s crypto economy.

Coinbase makes a big leap towards simplifying wallet addresses

You’re probably familiar with the long, cumbersome strings of characters that make up your crypto wallet address. 

These 42-digit combinations of letters and numbers can be intimidating for even the most experienced crypto user. If you paste the address incorrectly (or simply mess up a single character), you’ll lose your crypto forever. 

And even if you complete the steps correctly, there’s no way of knowing you successfully sent crypto to the right wallet address for a few minutes.

But crypto exchange giant Coinbase says it it’s rolling out a new feature that will let you replace that long string of gibberish with a simpler, easier-to-remember tag.

In short, the company created a way to replace the old 42-digit alphanumerical addresses… and let you customize your wallet address to make it easier to remember (and simpler to type out).

Long, complex addresses will soon be a thing of the past

Coinbase is giving away free “adjustable” wallet addresses using Coinbase wallet’s browser extension. This will only be available for Coinbase users… but it will likely force other crypto exchanges to roll out similar features…

And it will break down a major barrier that prevents more people from using crypto. This new address feature will make transactions easier for new and existing users… and help attract more users to the Coinbase exchange and wallet. 

I have a Coinbase wallet and I’m excited to check it out. I’ll play with the new wallet username feature, and let you know how it goes in a future issue…

Got a question about digital assets? Let me know here.

Editor’s note: Now’s the time to start building positions in crypto plays that could soar as the market rebounds… 

Here’s how to get exposure to Frank’s favorites in the space.

Joe Davide is a research analyst with a passion for all things crypto. He contributes to Crypto Intelligence, Wall Street Unplugged, and Curzio Crypto. When he’s not researching tokens, NFTs, and metaverse tech, Joe’s usually playing a round of golf.