The SEC Chair Says Most Crypto Assets Are Not Securities. What Does That Mean for XRP After Its 5-Year Fight?

SEC Chair Paul Atkins spoke at the Economic Club of Dallas, declaring that “most crypto assets are not themselves securities.” He pointed to the agency’s proposed Regulation Crypto Assets and an Innovation Exemption for trading tokenized securities onchain. Four days earlier, Ripple said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave final approval to charter Ripple National Trust Bank.

Despite these updates, XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) saw little movement. The token traded at $1.25, up 1.12% over 24 hours, inside a 16.08% drop in October 2026. XRP trades 65.75% below its $3.65 record from July 2025, so friendly words from a regulator haven’t changed the trend.

What Atkins Proposed and What the Courts Decided About XRP

The SEC proposed Regulation Crypto Assets as a rulebook for raising money on August 18, 2026. It would exempt startups that raise up to $5 million over four years and up to $75 million in a single year from full SEC registration. It’s still a proposal, with comments open 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The proposal also includes a safe harbor provision that would provide legal protection when a token ceases to be classified as an investment contract. This is the test for a security, where a buyer hands over money expecting profits from someone else’s work. The SEC suggests this clarification would define when a token’s backers’ management responsibilities end.

XRP has already been tested in court. The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020, and on July 13, 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP, as a token, is not an investment contract. However, Ripple’s institutional sales violated the law as unregistered offerings, while its sales on exchanges did not fall under securities regulations.

Torres rejected a joint request from the SEC and Ripple on June 26, 2025, to lift the injunction and reduce Ripple’s $125 million penalty. The SEC ultimately resolved the matter on August 7, 2025, as both parties withdrew their appeals. Read against the new proposal, XRP mostly falls outside it, since the exemptions serve projects raising fresh money and a court already ruled that XRP’s exchange trading wasn’t a securities offering.

Ripple’s New Banking Charter and Its Focus on Stablecoins

Ripple today is quite different from the company that faced the SEC’s lawsuit. It says it holds more than 85 licenses, serves over 1,700 institutions, and is on track for about $900 million in revenue by the end of 2026, though it hasn’t said how much depends on XRP.

Ripple’s revenue sources include Ripple Payments for cross-border transfers, custody, its stablecoin Ripple USD (CRYPTO:RLUSD), and Ripple Prime, a prime brokerage service for institutional clients, along with Ripple Treasury’s cash-management software.

The newly established Ripple National Trust Bank is closely integrated with its stablecoin business. The bank will manage RLUSD’s segregated reserves, act as a collateral trustee for RLUSD holders, and offer digital-asset custody services. Ripple hasn’t given an opening date, and Standard Custody & Trust Company keeps issuing RLUSD in the meantime.

RLUSD has a market valuation of over $2.43 billion and boasts a Moody’s A2 rating, indicating that it typically meets the risk assessment standards of banks and investment funds.

Circle, Robinhood and BNY Are Competing for Ripple’s Customers

Neither the SEC’s announcements nor Ripple’s moves specifically mention XRP as a settlement asset. Instead, every approved banking activity involves RLUSD reserves and custody, suggesting Ripple is counting on its stablecoin for growth. Despite RLUSD’s progress, XRP’s value remains stagnant. Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, which manages an XRP fund, stated that Ripple’s primary strength lies in remittances and RLUSD.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL | CRCL Price Prediction) reported $668 million in reserve income for the second quarter of 2026, even though its reserve return rate fell 66 basis points to 3.5%. Circle also won final OCC approval for its charter in July 2026, with USDC at $73.3 billion in circulation, while Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Crypto.com and Stripe-owned Bridge stayed at the conditional stage.

Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) is planning to settle in RLUSD on the XRP Ledger, and BNY (NYSE:BK) is adding both XRP and RLUSD to its custody services. Custody gives clients a place to store XRP they already own, but buying more is a separate choice. XRP’s main job in RLUSD settlement is paying network fees, which get burned, so Ripple earns no revenue from them.

Do Atkins’s Remarks Change Anything for XRP Holders?

XRP’s legal situation remains unchanged from where Judge Torres left it in 2023. Atkins’s comments might shift the climate without touching that status. A speech is not a law, and Regulation Crypto Assets is still a proposal. When Torres refused to cut Ripple’s penalty in 2025, even with the SEC backing Ripple, she found the law hadn’t changed.

Investors haven’t been quick to act either. On October 30, 2026, the day Atkins spoke, XRP spot ETFs saw a net outflow, and XRP’s value has dropped 50.17% over the past year.

Ripple stands to benefit the most. A friendlier SEC plus a federal charter could make it easier to sell custody, RLUSD and Prime to banks that stayed clear of the dispute. However, any gain for XRP is indirect, since every new Ripple product depends on RLUSD.

The clearest test is the SEC’s next step. If the commission finalizes Regulation Crypto Assets and XRP still can’t close above its 200-day moving average of $1.28, the policy climate isn’t moving the coin. If XRP holds above $1.28 after a final rule, that would be the first sign regulatory comfort is turning into buying demand.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.