The association between the two companies disintegrated. Ripple Labs registers a branch in the “crypto-friendly” state of Wyoming.
The remittance company Moneygram announced that it stopped operations on the Ripple Labs platform due to the lawsuit that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed in December last year. The lawsuit accuses Ripple of trading with its XRP cryptocurrency.
In a report released on Monday, February 22, MoneyGram talked about its decision to stop every single trading on the Ripple platform due to the uncertain panorama that the ongoing demand is causing.
MoneyGram has been using Ripple’s ODL (On-Demand Liquidity) tool since mid-2019 as a means of moving money internationally. After both companies announced their partnership, the alliance produced a 155% increase in MoneyGram’s market value and growth that reached USD 16.6 million in sending remittances between the United States and Mexico in September of that year.
The lawsuit Led Ripple to Hire High-Profile Legal Experts to Create a Defensive Barrier to Protect its Business
In December last year, when news of the case against Ripple broke, MoneyGram said it would continue its monitoring to the potential impact of the lawsuit and then make a reasonable decision.
However, there were indications that the partnership between the two parties suffered an indefinite suspension since the very beginning. Above all, because MoneyGram emphasized at the time that it was not using Ripple’s platform for direct transfers of funds from its consumers.
The lawsuit also caused Ripple to hire high-profile legal experts to create a defensive barrier to protect its business. These advocates included former SEC President Mary Jo White. In a recent interview with Fortune, she pointed out that the Securities and Exchange Commission might be wrong by filing a lawsuit against Ripple for the alleged sale of unregistered securities.
There is News about Ripple Registering a Branch in Wyoming
Kraken and the financial group Avanti, the State Banking Board, granted Kraken and the financial group Avanti a license to operate with cryptocurrencies. But Caitlin Long, Founder, and CEO of Avanti noted on Twitter that more companies realize that Wyoming is the right address because its laws are friendly for the development.
Long also highlights that the state has no corporate or franchise taxes, and all cryptocurrencies are exempt from sales tax. On the other hand, Cynthia Lummis, a Republican senator from Wyoming and with a famous reputation for investing in bitcoin, appears as an appointer to be a member of the Banking Committee of the US Senate. She has stated that cryptocurrencies will play an essential role in the new legislative agenda.
So far, it is not clear that Ripple will move its headquarters to Wyoming, as its main office is still in San Francisco. However, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse let his dissatisfaction speak due to the lack of regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies and blockchain that the United States currently manages.
By: Jenson Nuñez
