Litigation and Steady Price Decline — Can XRP Sustain Such Attrition?
Litigation and Steady Price Decline — Can XRP Sustain Such Attrition?
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Ripple’s user support is in decline and its price continues to drop as experts share the possible reasons behind the negativity.
Ripple has long occupied a controversial position in the cryptocurrency industry. The ascension of Ripple’s in-house token, XRP, to the position of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap was enough validation for some that the company was set to play a major role in the industry for many years to come. However, since those halcyon days, momentum has slowed, and aside from a few notable blips, the company has been dogged by rumors and a steady decline in XRP’s value.
Ripple fails to make waves online
Because of the ambitious philosophical goals at the heart of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, it is not uncommon to see investors who favor one particular token, battling it out behind their keyboards on social media. XRP’s defenders were among the most vocal.
But it seems that the token’s “XRP Army” is struggling to fill the ranks. According to a new study by social trading and investing platform eToro and crypto data provider The Tie, which indicated that discussion of XRP fell 16% in the first quarter of 2020.
While it’s important to note that Twitter mentions ebb and flow according to a huge variety of market movements and company activity, the report found that the number of users in the so-called XRP Army has declined by a mammoth 82% since January 2018. The token’s social media activity woes, however, don’t end there. A list of Telegram groups compiled by a Twitter user on April 15 showed that over 63% of @Ripple members had left since June 2018.
Mohamed Zidan, the chief market strategist of ThinkMarkets, told Cointelegraph that XRP has struggled to find a function in the cryptosphere and put forward his view that faith in the token is wavering:
“Believers in XRP and other cryptos diminished gradually, and few people still believe in it. It was important to witness how the markets reacted to cryptocurrencies during coronavirus pandemic. It proved that it can’t be a safe haven but more as a risky asset. The current stagnation and low volumes suggest that its place in the financial equation is yet to be found.”
Mass token liquidations send a mixed message to investors
One of the most common criticisms leveled at Ripple is the high quantity of XRP token liquidations. While the liquidations had previously been something that privately riled many crypto investors, few people thought to take action into their own hands.
The first time crypto companies come up against significant legal challenges is usually after an initial coin offering. Due to the lack of clarity about how to regulate cryptocurrencies, many new projects are accused of falling foul of the Securities Act — and Ripple is no exception.
Originally filed as a class-action lawsuit in May 2018, alleging that Ripple had violated the Securities Act through a 2013 ICO, with the March 25 amended complaint accusing Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse of misleading investors about the attractiveness of XRP while secretly liquidating his holdings.
The amended complaint alleges that the CEO put forward a bullish outlook to investors, presenting himself as “very, very, very long” and “on the HODL side” about XRP during 2017. Despite Garlinhouse’s positive online posts, the plaintiffs accuse him of having sold 67 million XRP during 2017, further adding that he was liquidating tokens only days after he received them from Ripple.
One of the foremost criticisms of cryptocurrencies is that they have no intrinsic value. While most people who invested money in digital assets have a vested interest in arguing that they do. It seems like the plaintiffs are now disillusioned regarding the token’s actual worth:
“All 100 billion of the XRP in existence were created out of thin air by Ripple at its inception in 2013 before any distribution and without functionality except as a speculative investment.”
Plaintiffs also asserted that the company’s own funds were greatly overshadowed by the XRP owned by the defendants, arguing that Ripple’s own valuation rests largely on the value of the tokens it owns and sells:
“The value of XRP owned by defendants substantially exceeds the value of Ripple’s revenue or cash flow from all other sources. Ripple’s dominant value proposition is the XRP tokens it owns and sells. Ripple’s value proposition as a company depends upon the promotion of XRP, yet XRP is entirely or essentially pre-functional and purchased by investors in anticipation of profit based on the efforts of Ripple.”
ThinkMarkets’s Zidan outlined his view to Cointelegraph that liquidations aim to bolster the cash position of the firm in order to create a justification for its high valuation but added that further liquidations should be expected:
“The liquidation aims to strengthen the cash position of the company and try to adjust its financial position for the valuation. XRP liquidations are likely to continue along with other cryptocurrencies. If you want that to stop or at least slow down, you need to provide a real value.”
The plaintiffs also questioned the way, in which both Ripple and Garlinghouse had represented XRP, arguing that any claims for the token as having utility as a “bridge currency” were simply to avoid classification as a security, per the class action suit:
“These claims are misrepresentations and omissions of material facts to investors because the utility of XRP (or lack thereof) is pertinent to the value of XRP. Simply stated, these false claims about XRP’s utility are nothing but an attempt to avoid the application of securities laws and drive demand for XRP.”
The Tie reported that the firm relied on XRP liquidations to stay cash-flow positive in 2019: “While Ripple liquidated only $13M worth of its XRP holdings in Q4 2019 (the least in three years), it sold over $250M worth in Q3 of last year. It is not yet known how much XRP Ripple sold in Q1 2020.”
Ripple’s attempt to have the case dismissed was thwarted by United States District Judge Phyllis Hamilton, who allowed it to move forward in February. The case progression, however, came with a caveat. Hamilton requested that the plaintiffs explain their views that Ripple made fraudulent claims in greater detail, citing a number of accusations in the case that were too general in scope.
Analyst gives sobering outlook for Ripple
For many years, the very concept of cryptocurrency lurked in the shadows, existing as whispers in exchanges between ambitious and politically-driven enthusiasts who dreamed of a better financial system. Among the masses, cryptocurrencies are remembered for the price levels Bitcoin (BTC) reached in 2017, along with those who bought in too late and are still waiting to cash in at a profit. Despite tough conditions, many companies have managed to cling on until now. According to ThinkMarkets’s Zidan, the time for companies such as Ripple that rely on their tokens could be running out:
“XRP is neither a yielding asset nor a trusted safe haven. So, what drives its value? It was only the crypto craze that managed to drive its price soaring. If we look at Ripple only as a cryptocurrency provider, then it derives its value only from XRP, which technically, has no intrinsic value as a store of value. The intrinsic value will be derived from the ability of the company to generate a sustainable income through the coming years.”
While Zidan had a conservative outlook for the prospects of XRP, he told Cointelegraph that it is still worth noting that the company is able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in funding rounds — which helps boost its valuation:
“The main drivers for disappointing numbers in sales in Q4 2019 were decline in institutional sales and pause in programmatic sales (sales to exchanges). However, the company successfully raised $200 million in a Series C round, which makes the firm value flirting at $10B, and that reflects there are still interest in a company but lower value.”
Many critics over the years have said that high crypto prices were simply a bubble, and it appears that Zidan, to an extent, agrees with them. Zidan explained to Cointelegraph that he thinks high prices are a hangover from 2017 and that companies such as Ripple need to find other ways to create use cases for their currencies in lieu of a lack of intrinsic value:
“The decline may be considered as a means of reverting to normal growth in the industry as clearly, the crypto craze that we witnessed during 2017 is over, back then XRP and other cryptocurrencies looked like a get-rich-quick scheme. But with time, it becomes obvious that it was a bubble and to focus more on how sustainable the income stream for the company. I think they should be focused on payment solutions, although it won’t be easy to compete with other well-established companies like PayPal and others.”
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Comments on February Employment Report
The headline jobs number in the February employment report was above expectations; however, December and January payrolls were revised down by 167,000 combined. The participation rate was unchanged, the employment population ratio decreased, and the …
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Prime (25 to 54 Years Old) Participation
Since the overall participation rate is impacted by both cyclical (recession) and demographic (aging population, younger people staying in school) reasons, here is the employment-population ratio for the key working age group: 25 to 54 years old.
The 25 to 54 years old participation rate increased in February to 83.5% from 83.3% in January, and the 25 to 54 employment population ratio increased to 80.7% from 80.6% the previous month.
Average Hourly Wages
The graph shows the nominal year-over-year change in "Average Hourly Earnings" for all private employees from the Current Employment Statistics (CES). Wage growth has trended down after peaking at 5.9% YoY in March 2022 and was at 4.3% YoY in February.
Part Time for Economic Reasons
From the BLS report:"The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.4 million, changed little in February. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs."The number of persons working part time for economic reasons decreased in February to 4.36 million from 4.42 million in February. This is slightly above pre-pandemic levels.
These workers are included in the alternate measure of labor underutilization (U-6) that increased to 7.3% from 7.2% in the previous month. This is down from the record high in April 2020 of 23.0% and up from the lowest level on record (seasonally adjusted) in December 2022 (6.5%). (This series started in 1994). This measure is above the 7.0% level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).
Unemployed over 26 Weeks
This graph shows the number of workers unemployed for 27 weeks or more. According to the BLS, there are 1.203 million workers who have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks and still want a job, down from 1.277 million the previous month.
This is close to pre-pandemic levels.
Job Streak
| Headline Jobs, Top 10 Streaks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year Ended | Streak, Months | |
| 1 | 2019 | 100 |
| 2 | 1990 | 48 |
| 3 | 2007 | 46 |
| 4 | 1979 | 45 |
| 5 | 20241 | 38 |
| 6 tie | 1943 | 33 |
| 6 tie | 1986 | 33 |
| 6 tie | 2000 | 33 |
| 9 | 1967 | 29 |
| 10 | 1995 | 25 |
| 1Currrent Streak | ||
Summary:
The headline monthly jobs number was above consensus expectations; however, December and January payrolls were revised down by 167,000 combined. The participation rate was unchanged, the employment population ratio decreased, and the unemployment rate was increased to 3.9%. Another solid report.
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Immune cells can adapt to invading pathogens, deciding whether to fight now or prepare for the next battle
When faced with a threat, T cells have the decision-making flexibility to both clear out the pathogen now and ready themselves for a future encounter.
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How does your immune system decide between fighting invading pathogens now or preparing to fight them in the future? Turns out, it can change its mind.
Every person has 10 million to 100 million unique T cells that have a critical job in the immune system: patrolling the body for invading pathogens or cancerous cells to eliminate. Each of these T cells has a unique receptor that allows it to recognize foreign proteins on the surface of infected or cancerous cells. When the right T cell encounters the right protein, it rapidly forms many copies of itself to destroy the offending pathogen.
Importantly, this process of proliferation gives rise to both short-lived effector T cells that shut down the immediate pathogen attack and long-lived memory T cells that provide protection against future attacks. But how do T cells decide whether to form cells that kill pathogens now or protect against future infections?
We are a team of bioengineers studying how immune cells mature. In our recently published research, we found that having multiple pathways to decide whether to kill pathogens now or prepare for future invaders boosts the immune system’s ability to effectively respond to different types of challenges.
Fight or remember?
To understand when and how T cells decide to become effector cells that kill pathogens or memory cells that prepare for future infections, we took movies of T cells dividing in response to a stimulus mimicking an encounter with a pathogen.
Specifically, we tracked the activity of a gene called T cell factor 1, or TCF1. This gene is essential for the longevity of memory cells. We found that stochastic, or probabilistic, silencing of the TCF1 gene when cells confront invading pathogens and inflammation drives an early decision between whether T cells become effector or memory cells. Exposure to higher levels of pathogens or inflammation increases the probability of forming effector cells.
Surprisingly, though, we found that some effector cells that had turned off TCF1 early on were able to turn it back on after clearing the pathogen, later becoming memory cells.
Through mathematical modeling, we determined that this flexibility in decision making among memory T cells is critical to generating the right number of cells that respond immediately and cells that prepare for the future, appropriate to the severity of the infection.
Understanding immune memory
The proper formation of persistent, long-lived T cell memory is critical to a person’s ability to fend off diseases ranging from the common cold to COVID-19 to cancer.
From a social and cognitive science perspective, flexibility allows people to adapt and respond optimally to uncertain and dynamic environments. Similarly, for immune cells responding to a pathogen, flexibility in decision making around whether to become memory cells may enable greater responsiveness to an evolving immune challenge.
Memory cells can be subclassified into different types with distinct features and roles in protective immunity. It’s possible that the pathway where memory cells diverge from effector cells early on and the pathway where memory cells form from effector cells later on give rise to particular subtypes of memory cells.
Our study focuses on T cell memory in the context of acute infections the immune system can successfully clear in days, such as cold, the flu or food poisoning. In contrast, chronic conditions such as HIV and cancer require persistent immune responses; long-lived, memory-like cells are critical for this persistence. Our team is investigating whether flexible memory decision making also applies to chronic conditions and whether we can leverage that flexibility to improve cancer immunotherapy.
Resolving uncertainty surrounding how and when memory cells form could help improve vaccine design and therapies that boost the immune system’s ability to provide long-term protection against diverse infectious diseases.
Kathleen Abadie was funded by a NSF (National Science Foundation) Graduate Research Fellowships. She performed this research in affiliation with the University of Washington Department of Bioengineering.
Elisa Clark performed her research in affiliation with the University of Washington (UW) Department of Bioengineering and was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRFP) and by a predoctoral fellowship through the UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM).
Hao Yuan Kueh receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.
stimulus covid-19 yuan vaccine stimulusGovernment
President Biden Delivers The “Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President”
President Biden Delivers The "Darkest, Most Un-American Speech Given By A President"
Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through…
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Having successfully raged, ranted, lied, and yelled through the State of The Union, President Biden can go back to his crypt now.
Whatever 'they' gave Biden, every American man, woman, and the other should be allowed to take it - though it seems the cocktail brings out 'dark Brandon'?
Tl;dw: Biden's Speech tonight ...
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Fund Ukraine.
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Trump is threat to democracy and America itself.
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Abortion is good.
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American Economy is stronger than ever.
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Inflation wasn't Biden's fault.
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Illegals are Americans too.
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Republicans are responsible for the border crisis.
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Trump is bad.
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Biden stands with trans-children.
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J6 was the worst insurrection since the Civil War.
(h/t @TCDMS99)
Tucker Carlson's response sums it all up perfectly:
"that was possibly the darkest, most un-American speech given by an American president. It wasn't a speech, it was a rant..."
Carlson continued: "The true measure of a nation's greatness lies within its capacity to control borders, yet Bid refuses to do it."
"In a fair election, Joe Biden cannot win"
And concluded:
“There was not a meaningful word for the entire duration about the things that actually matter to people who live here.”
Victor Davis Hanson added some excellent color, but this was probably the best line on Biden:
"he doesn't care... he lives in an alternative reality."
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 8, 2024
* * *
Watch SOTU Live here...
* * *
Mises' Connor O'Keeffe, warns: "Be on the Lookout for These Lies in Biden's State of the Union Address."
On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden is set to give his third State of the Union address. The political press has been buzzing with speculation over what the president will say. That speculation, however, is focused more on how Biden will perform, and which issues he will prioritize. Much of the speech is expected to be familiar.
The story Biden will tell about what he has done as president and where the country finds itself as a result will be the same dishonest story he's been telling since at least the summer.
He'll cite government statistics to say the economy is growing, unemployment is low, and inflation is down.
Something that has been frustrating Biden, his team, and his allies in the media is that the American people do not feel as economically well off as the official data says they are. Despite what the White House and establishment-friendly journalists say, the problem lies with the data, not the American people's ability to perceive their own well-being.
As I wrote back in January, the reason for the discrepancy is the lack of distinction made between private economic activity and government spending in the most frequently cited economic indicators. There is an important difference between the two:
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Government, unlike any other entity in the economy, can simply take money and resources from others to spend on things and hire people. Whether or not the spending brings people value is irrelevant
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It's the private sector that's responsible for producing goods and services that actually meet people's needs and wants. So, the private components of the economy have the most significant effect on people's economic well-being.
Recently, government spending and hiring has accounted for a larger than normal share of both economic activity and employment. This means the government is propping up these traditional measures, making the economy appear better than it actually is. Also, many of the jobs Biden and his allies take credit for creating will quickly go away once it becomes clear that consumers don't actually want whatever the government encouraged these companies to produce.
On top of all that, the administration is dealing with the consequences of their chosen inflation rhetoric.
Since its peak in the summer of 2022, the president's team has talked about inflation "coming back down," which can easily give the impression that it's prices that will eventually come back down.
But that's not what that phrase means. It would be more honest to say that price increases are slowing down.
Americans are finally waking up to the fact that the cost of living will not return to prepandemic levels, and they're not happy about it.
The president has made some clumsy attempts at damage control, such as a Super Bowl Sunday video attacking food companies for "shrinkflation"—selling smaller portions at the same price instead of simply raising prices.
In his speech Thursday, Biden is expected to play up his desire to crack down on the "corporate greed" he's blaming for high prices.
In the name of "bringing down costs for Americans," the administration wants to implement targeted price ceilings - something anyone who has taken even a single economics class could tell you does more harm than good. Biden would never place the blame for the dramatic price increases we've experienced during his term where it actually belongs—on all the government spending that he and President Donald Trump oversaw during the pandemic, funded by the creation of $6 trillion out of thin air - because that kind of spending is precisely what he hopes to kick back up in a second term.
If reelected, the president wants to "revive" parts of his so-called Build Back Better agenda, which he tried and failed to pass in his first year. That would bring a significant expansion of domestic spending. And Biden remains committed to the idea that Americans must be forced to continue funding the war in Ukraine. That's another topic Biden is expected to highlight in the State of the Union, likely accompanied by the lie that Ukraine spending is good for the American economy. It isn't.
It's not possible to predict all the ways President Biden will exaggerate, mislead, and outright lie in his speech on Thursday. But we can be sure of two things. The "state of the Union" is not as strong as Biden will say it is. And his policy ambitions risk making it much worse.
* * *
The American people will be tuning in on their smartphones, laptops, and televisions on Thursday evening to see if 'sloppy joe' 81-year-old President Joe Biden can coherently put together more than two sentences (even with a teleprompter) as he gives his third State of the Union in front of a divided Congress.
President Biden will speak on various topics to convince voters why he shouldn't be sent to a retirement home.
The state of our union under President Biden: three years of decline. pic.twitter.com/Da1KOIb3eR
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 7, 2024
According to CNN sources, here are some of the topics Biden will discuss tonight:
Economic issues: Biden and his team have been drafting a speech heavy on economic populism, aides said, with calls for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy – an attempt to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans and their likely presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
Health care expenses: Biden will also push for lowering health care costs and discuss his efforts to go after drug manufacturers to lower the cost of prescription medications — all issues his advisers believe can help buoy what have been sagging economic approval ratings.
Israel's war with Hamas: Also looming large over Biden's primetime address is the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has consumed much of the president's time and attention over the past few months. The president's top national security advisers have been working around the clock to try to finalize a ceasefire-hostages release deal by Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that begins next week.
An argument for reelection: Aides view Thursday's speech as a critical opportunity for the president to tout his accomplishments in office and lay out his plans for another four years in the nation's top job. Even though viewership has declined over the years, the yearly speech reliably draws tens of millions of households.
Sources provided more color on Biden's SOTU address:
The speech is expected to be heavy on economic populism. The president will talk about raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. He'll highlight efforts to cut costs for the American people, including pushing Congress to help make prescription drugs more affordable.
Biden will talk about the need to preserve democracy and freedom, a cornerstone of his re-election bid. That includes protecting and bolstering reproductive rights, an issue Democrats believe will energize voters in November. Biden is also expected to promote his unity agenda, a key feature of each of his addresses to Congress while in office.
Biden is also expected to give remarks on border security while the invasion of illegals has become one of the most heated topics among American voters. A majority of voters are frustrated with radical progressives in the White House facilitating the illegal migrant invasion.
It is probable that the president will attribute the failure of the Senate border bill to the Republicans, a claim many voters view as unfounded. This is because the White House has the option to issue an executive order to restore border security, yet opts not to do so
Maybe this is why?
Most Americans are still unaware that the census counts ALL people, including illegal immigrants, for deciding how many House seats each state gets!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2024
This results in Dem states getting roughly 20 more House seats, which is another strong incentive for them not to deport illegals.
While Biden addresses the nation, the Biden administration will be armed with a social media team to pump propaganda to at least 100 million Americans.
"The White House hosted about 70 creators, digital publishers, and influencers across three separate events" on Wednesday and Thursday, a White House official told CNN.
Not a very capable social media team...
The State of Confusion https://t.co/C31mHc5ABJ
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 7, 2024
The administration's move to ramp up social media operations comes as users on X are mostly free from government censorship with Elon Musk at the helm. This infuriates Democrats, who can no longer censor their political enemies on X.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers tell Axios that the president's SOTU performance will be critical as he tries to dispel voter concerns about his elderly age. The address reached as many as 27 million people in 2023.
"We are all nervous," said one House Democrat, citing concerns about the president's "ability to speak without blowing things."
The SOTU address comes as Biden's polling data is in the dumps.
BetOnline has created several money-making opportunities for gamblers tonight, such as betting on what word Biden mentions the most.
As well as...
We will update you when Tucker Carlson's live feed of SOTU is published.
Fuck it. We’ll do it live! Thursday night, March 7, our live response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech. pic.twitter.com/V0UwOrgKvz
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 6, 2024
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