Five Things to Know in Crypto This Week: Elon Musk, Ripple, and Coinbase in Focus

Key Insights:

• Elon Musk’s deeper ties with the Dogecoin Foundation exposed.
• SEC v Ripple case heats up as the SEC responds to the Ripple opposition filing.
• The SEC v Coinbase case begins to draw greater interest as investors await the Court decision on the motion to dismiss.

SEC v Ripple Appeal Update

After the dust settled from the Ripple opposition filing to the SEC motion for interlocutory appeal, investors awaited the SEC’s Reply Memorandum. On Friday, the SEC issued their response to Ripple’s opposition filing.

The SEC’s Reply Memorandum offers them the opportunity to rebut arguments presented in Ripple’s opposition filing.

In aiming to justify the need for an interlocutory appeal, the SEC targeted Ripple’s defense tactics. The SEC claimed that the Defendants wished to prolong the case to allow the continued sale of XRP into public markets. Legal experts reacted to the filing and SEC concerns about conserving judicial resources.

Amicus Curiae attorney and CryptoLaw founder John E. Deaton noted the SEC claim that Ripple wants to extend the litigation process, wastefully using judicial resources.

From Monday to Saturday morning, XRP was down 0.48%, trading at $0.5022.

Ark Invest and 21Shares Apply for ETH-Spot ETF.

On Wednesday, Ark Invest and 21Shares filed for an ETH-Spot ETF, Ark 21Shares Ethereum ETF. The ETH-Spot ETF filing follows the SEC’s decision to open the BTC-Spot ETF applications to the public for comment.

The ongoing delay to a crypto-spot ETF market remains a crypto market headwind. Approval of crypto-spot ETFs would fuel an influx of new investor money into the crypto market.

Earlier this year, the SEC labeled BTC a commodity, but categorized ETH as a security.

While the SEC may approve one, some, or all of the BTC-Spot ETF applications, the ETH application could face greater scrutiny and pushback.

ETH was down 0.14%, Monday through Saturday morning.

Elon Musk and the Dogecoin Foundation

This week, the Wall Street Journal reported closer ties of Elon Musk to Dogecoin (DOGE). According to the WSJ, Elon Musk provided funding to the Dogecoin Foundation. In 2022, crypto investors filed a $258 billion lawsuit against Musk, Tesla (TSLA), and SpaceX. The plaintiffs alleged the Defendants “falsely and deceptively claim that dogecoin is a legitimate investment when it has no value at all.”

Despite the lawsuit, after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, he briefly changed its logo to the DOGE logo.

Bucking the broader market trend, DOGE was up 0.48% to $0.0634, Monday through Saturday morning.

Interest in the Ongoing SEC v Coinbase Case Intensifies

Market interest in the ongoing SEC v Coinbase (COIN) case has increased in recent weeks. Investors await a Court ruling on the Coinbase motion to dismiss (MTD). If presiding Judge Failla grants the motion to dismiss, the implications would be significant for the US digital asset space.

Earlier this year, SEC Chair Gary Gensler made a statement, classifying all cryptocurrencies, with the exception of BTC, as securities.

The SEC alleges that Coinbase allegedly operates as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agent. A dismissal would provide more clarity on how cryptos are classified when offered for trading on US exchanges.

Legal experts speculate that a dismissal could force the SEC into settling the SEC v Ripple case.

Coinbase gained 5.26% this week, ending the week at $82.09.

Crypto Market Regulations Become Focal Point Ahead of the G20 Summit

This week, CFTC Commissioner Caroline D. Pham proposed the launch of a US pilot program for the US digital asset markets. Speaking at the event ‘Staying Ahead of the Curve: Crypto Regulation and Competitiveness’ at the Cato Institute, Pham stated the CFTC principles-based framework is designed to deliver “innovation in technology, new products, and market structure.”

On Thursday, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a paper outlining a policy implementation roadmap. The paper assigned responsibilities to the FSB, IMF, and the World Bank, among others.

The roadmap focuses on G20 jurisdictions and beyond, promoting global collaboration and information exchange to grasp the evolving crypto ecosystem.

Monday through Saturday, the crypto market cap was down 0.20% to $1,023 billion. Despite the threat of a global regulatory framework, there was no panic selling. Historically, investors have reacted adversely to such threats.