In crypto news that may cause a ripple, Ripple will explore the possibility of an initial public offering once its lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ends, CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced. Ripple said it's making progress and expects a suit by the SEC to resolve by the end of 2022. The SEC has charged Ripple with selling $1.3b in XRP cryptocurrency in an unregistered securities offering, but Ripple maintains that the XRP is not a security. XRP is currently one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world.
Garlinghouse’s comments come amid a cryptocurrency price crash that has wiped billions of dollars of value off of the market. XRP is down 42% in the last 30 days, according to CoinGecko. Stocks of crypto-related companies have also been hammered. Coinbase (COIN) shares are down 75% this year, while Robinhood (HOOD), which offers digital currency trading, has seen its stock drop nearly 50%.
Elsewhere, despite its value tanking by 60%, JPMorgan (JPM) states that it feels Bitcoin's current price is undervalued by 28%. Bitcoin is hovering around the $29,000 mark with JPMorgan analysts believing it should be more around $38,000.
Why it matters
Despite the near annihilation of crypto valuations, there seems to still be a strong appetite for its tech and capabilities. An indication of this is Andreesen Horowitz, the venture capital giant, launching a new crypto fund which is the largest thus far in the industry.
