Coinbase and the Ripple Effect: SEC’s 2021 XRP Stability Concerns Resurface Amid Legal Battle

Newly leaked SEC emails from 2021 reveal deep regulatory concerns about XRP’s stability during the Ripple legal showdown, raising questions about the cryptocurrency’s future and its implications for exchanges like Coinbase.

Leaked SEC Emails Reveal 2021 Concerns Over XRP’s Stability Amid Ripple Legal Battle

Newly disclosed documents reveal the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s internal deliberations about XRP’s future during its high-stakes legal clash with Ripple. Freedom of Information Act requests uncovered 2021 emails showing regulators grappling with existential questions—including what might happen if Ripple abruptly ceased operations.

The correspondence exposes fundamental tensions in crypto regulation, with SEC officials debating whether XRP could maintain network integrity without its founding company. These concerns emerged years before Ripple’s partial legal victory, highlighting how regulatory uncertainty shaped the ecosystem’s development.

Bitcoin Outperforms Stocks Amid Trump Tariff-Induced Market Turmoil

Traditional financial markets reel under bearish pressure as President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes trigger a sustained downturn. The S&P 500 and other equity indices have bled value for weeks, with single-day drops reaching 4-5 standard deviations—an anomaly by historical measures.

Bitcoin emerges as a counterpoint to the carnage. The cryptocurrency demonstrated relative resilience, with downward moves capped at 1.5 standard deviations during the same period. This divergence first manifested on April 2nd—Liberation Day in some jurisdictions—and persisted across multiple trading sessions.

"The decoupling is statistically significant," noted David Duong, Coinbase Institutional’s Head of Research, during an interview with Ash Bennington. "We’re observing a structural shift where crypto volatility no longer mirrors traditional risk assets."