Crypto Market Recap: Ripple (XRP), SHIB and Binance Seize the Limelight

The cryptocurrency landscape closes yet another week with Binance founder, Ripple & Shiba Inu seizing the limelight. Adding on to a crypto market frenzy post-BTC halving, some of the top headlines for this week that ignited a bustle among investors are:

Ripple Vs U.S. SEC Takes New Turn

The never-ending legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission embarked upon an exciting turn this week, leaving crypto market participants enthralled.

Ripple, the company behind the crypto XRP, expressed a sigh of immense relief as Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn was nominated as the District Judge in the Southern District of New York on April 25. This staged as an optimistic development for Ripple, as the Judge has earlier solidified her supportive stance on cryptocurrencies and issued impartial rulings.

Whereas, soon after the Judge was nominated as the District Judge in SDNY court, her new ruling on the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit birthed ripples across the crypto space. Notably, Judge Sarah Netburn set a schedule for the ongoing legal dispute between Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The scheduling concerns Ripple’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s recent expert submissions, which were intended to bolster the SEC’s case for remedies and a final judgment. Intriguingly, Judge Netburn granted the SEC an extension until April 29, 2024, to provide their rebuttal to Ripple’s motion. Subsequently, Ripple will have three business days to reply.

Binance Founder Likely To Face Imprisonment

Further, in a follow-up to Binance’s AML saga, the firm’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, ‘CZ,’ appears to be potentially liable to face a 36-month prison sentence, per recent reports. In a court filing on Tuesday, April 23, U.S. prosecutors proclaimed that’ CZ’ should serve 36 months in prison over the allegations of violating the anti-money laundering laws (AML) on U.S. grounds.

Zhao, who stepped down as the CEO of Binance last November, awaits a final sentencing on April 30. This development has further turned heads across the broader crypto industry, underscoring complexities within the sector. 

Meanwhile, in a sentencing memorandum submitted on behalf of the former Binance CEO, attorneys argued that Zhao should be sentenced to probation. This further ignited a frenzy across the global crypto horizon.

Shiba Inu Advances With Crypto Venture

Shiba Inu, the self-proclaimed Dogecoin killer, made significant strides with its crypto venture this week, showcasing impressive developments within its ecosystem. Notably, the dog-themed meme token ruled out plans to introduce a layer 3 blockchain, further revolutionizing the meme coin’s cryptographic developments.

The layer 3 blockchain comes primarily as a result of Shiba Inu’s collaboration with Zama. Moreover, with whispers about the L3 being an FHE (Fully Homomorphic Encryption) based blockchain prevailing in the market, Shiba Inu ecosystem users stand optimistic.

In the interim, the Shiba Inu community also revealed that it plans to introduce a hard fork for Shibarium, eyeing the facilitation of faster block processing and more predictable transaction fees. 

These chronicles, collectively, appear to have nabbed significant attention among crypto market traders and investors this week