OKCoin latest exchange to suspend XRP trading and deposits

Crypto exchange OKCoin announced it would suspend XRP trading and deposits following the news that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission would be pursuing legal action against Ripple.

In a blog post released today, OKCoin said its "best course of action" in response to the recent SEC lawsuit would be to suspend trading and deposits of XRP. The exchange wrote that the suspension would take place over two days. Users who borrowed XRP/USD through OKCoin "are required to return the borrowed value" before Jan. 3. The following day, the exchange will suspend spot trading, margin trading and deposits for XRP.

"It is likely that this situation will take time to reach a resolution," said the OKCoin blog post. "We will proactively inform our customers when we have information that may change our position."

OKCoin’s position comes following the SEC unveiling charges against Ripple as well as CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen on Dec. 22. The commission alleges that the firm and its executives engaged in an "unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering" to investors since 2013 through sales of the XRP token. Garlinghouse responded by saying the SEC "voted to attack crypto" and was doing "the opposite of 'fostering innovation'" in the United States.

Since news of the SEC charges broke, the price of XRP has fallen more than 36% as some exchanges have announced they will halt trading for the token, including OSL, Beaxy and CrossTower. Digital asset exchange Bitstamp is also planning to suspend XRP trading, but only for users based in the United States. However, suspending XRP on OKCoin — ranked at number 29, according to CoinMarketCap — may be a precursor for large exchanges to follow.

The SEC has charged @Ripple with conducting an unregistered security sale. Due to this, #Beaxy has halted trading for XRP pending further news. $XRP withdrawals will remain enabled until further notice. pic.twitter.com/lVVqXJPdPP

At the time of publication, the price of XRP was $0.28, having fallen 3.5% in the last 24 hours.