Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its multi-year enforcement action against Ripple. Crypto lawyer John Deaton chimed in on the development, telling Cointelegraph that the SEC’s allegation that XRP (XRP) is a security is dead in its tracks. Meanwhile, an initially crypto-skeptic Minnesota Senator introduced a Bitcoin-buying bill.

SEC’s failed case against Ripple is proof XRP is not a security — John Deaton

Crypto lawyer and former Massachusetts Senate candidate John Deaton said the SEC’s failed lawsuit against Ripple is the final death knell in its claim that the XRP token is a security.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Deaton said the XRP token is a digital commodity, not a security. After the SEC decided to drop its case against Ripple, the blockchain company will have the opportunity to renegotiate the $125-million judgment against it, said Deaton. 

“Everything’s turned,” since the election of Donald Trump, said Deaton. “The election’s turned, the industry turned, the SEC [has] completely done a 180 as it relates to the industry. Why should we pay $125 million?”

Earlier in the day, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the regulator’s XRP reversal a “victory for the industry and the beginning of a new chapter.”

SEC will drop its appeal against Ripple, CEO Garlinghouse says

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s multi-year enforcement action against Ripple from

2021 is finally coming to an end, according to the company CEO.

“This is it — the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal — a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse wrote on X on March 19.

Source: Brad Garlinghouse

“I’m finally able to announce that the case has ended; it’s over,” Garlinghouse said in the attached video to the X post.

Minnesota senator proposes Bitcoin Act after going from skeptic to believer

Minnesota state Senator Jeremy Miller introduced the Minnesota Bitcoin Act on March 17 to allow the state to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, which he drafted after completely changing his stance on the space.

“As I do more research on cryptocurrency and hear from more and more constituents, I’ve gone from being highly skeptical to learning more about it, to believing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” Miller said in a statement announcing the bill.

Several other US states have introduced similar Bitcoin-buying bills, with 23 states having introduced legislation to create a Bitcoin reserve, likely influenced by Senator Cynthia Lummis’ Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act, which would see the federal government buy 1 million Bitcoin.

A total of 39 different bills related to state investments in Bitcoin have been introduced across 23 US states. Source: Bitcoin Laws

The bill would allow the Minnesota State Board of Investment to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. State employees would be able to add Bitcoin and crypto to their retirement accounts, and Minnesotans would be given the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin, among other measures.