Another Ripple Securities Fraud Lawsuit Filed; Cryptocurrency Is Also Accused of Not Being Decentralized

The third-biggest cryptocurrency in the market, Ripple (XRP), is facing another lawsuit from a disgruntled investor claiming securities fraud. The company is basically being accused of presenting its offers as a security while failing to register as such. This latest Ripple securities fraud lawsuit also involves accusations that XRP is not decentralized like other cryptocurrencies.

The lawsuit was filed by David Oconer, a California resident, in the Superior Court of California in San Mateo County, CoinDesk reports. The documents detail the accusations of the plaintiff, where it is noted how XRP supposedly sold its digital coins and used the money for the sale to fund its business.

"Here, the XRP offered and sold by the defendants had all the traditional hallmarks of a security, yet defendants failed to register them as such,” the lawsuit reads. “The purchase of XRP constitutes an investment contract, as XRP purchasers, including plaintiff, provided consideration (in the form of fiat, such as U.S. dollars, or other cryptocurrencies) in exchange for XRP. XRP purchasers reasonably expected to derive profits from their ownership of XRP, and defendants themselves have frequently highlighted this profit motive.”

As Stocks Gazette reports, this is not the first time that XRP has been sued this year for the same reason. This latest Ripple securities fraud lawsuit, however, goes further in terms of its accusations by saying that XRP is not decentralized at all.

It claims that it is, in fact, centralized and the company has been manipulating its prices so that it and its benefactors could profit from it. This is a serious accusation since cryptocurrency should be decentralized. The two other major digital offerings, Ethereum and Bitcoin, are decentralized.

This new development could serve as a tipping point for the company. If this new Ripple securities fraud lawsuit should go in favor of the plaintiff, it could open the floodgates to even more lawsuits. XRP will likely fight tooth and nail to avoid such an eventuality.