Over the weekend, the crypto community, particularly the XRP community, was rocked with heavy arguments, fueled by renowned Fox Business correspondent, Charles Gasparino. The back and forth was focused on Judge Analisa Torres’s ruling on XRP sales and disclosure standards, both for retail and institutional investors.
Gasparino’s comments evoked a lot of backlash from XRP community members as they accused him of biased reporting and allegedly wanting Ripple to lose the case against the SEC. As the next key date in the court saga, January 15, approaches, investors and pundits are eager for the next play.
Gasparino Calls Judge Torres “Moron” and “Idiotic”
In a post on X, Gasparino went on about how Judge Torres’s ruling sets a double standard for disclosure. In his argument, he called the ruling “dumb,” noting that the judgment promotes lower disclosure standards for retail investors as opposed to institutions.
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Moreover, Gasparino opined that the ruling might be overturned if the SEC chooses to continue with the lawsuit under new leadership in the Trump administration. Gasparino made the post in response to a troll who accused him of losing credibility after his appearance on a podcast with Anthony Pompliano.
In the podcast, Gasparino reminded the XRP community how he was the first to report the SEC’s regulatory overreach in its fight against Ripple, adding that it was he and his colleague, Eleanor Terret, that brought the angle to light. Gasparino pointed to the “stupidity” of the case emphasizing the conflicting ruling by Judge Torres. He said,
“Then they get this moron judge who says the retail investors don’t need the disclosure, but they should have disclosed it to the institutions” … “this idiotic judge didn’t even know that she established presedence that there should be less disclosure for retail.”
His comments quickly attracted a wave of backlash from the XRP community who has always expressed their concerns about his stance in the court saga.
Bill Morgan Joins Argument
Prominent lawyer and XRP advocate, Bill Morgan, wrote a lengthy post on X responding to Gasparino’s statement. Morgan debunked the assumption that Judge Torres established a lower disclosure standard for retail.
“There would be no different disclosure outcome if the Judge had found institutional sales were not investment contracts,” he said.
Morgan noted that the ruling didn’t even apply to other secondary market sales adding that “the need for securities level disclosure only arises if programmatic sales are investment contracts.” Moreover, Morgan stressed that if Ripple wins its appeal, then there would be no more concern about a double disclosure standard as pointed out by Gasparino.
“No securities disclosure will be required for any Ripple XRP sales in that event because no sales will be securities,” he said.
Gasparino Attacks XRP Community, Says “No Army”
Gasparino took the argument to another level after he took a direct jab at the XRP community. Responding to another troll who suggested that the XRP army came too hard for him, Gasparino stated that there is “no XRP army.”
He asserted that the so-called XRP army is just a bunch of investors who made insiders rich by buying into the XRP coins and are waiting for their payday when they would be rewarded in the form of a price surge.
It is important to note that this is not the first time that Gasparino has taken shots at the XRP community. In fact, in 2023, he referred to the XRP community as a “cult,” and also reported that Ripple lost its case against the SEC even though a federal court declared XRP as non-security.
XRP’s Price Nosedives Following Controversy
Meanwhile, the price of XRP responded negatively to the back and forth. Amid the social media saga, the Ripple-backed cryptocurrency plummeted significantly, falling as low as $2 before rebounding to its current price of $2.1.
Gasparino also noted how XRP’s price always declines each time he gets trolled by an XRP soldier (investor in the XRP army). In a separate tweet, he shared a screenshot of the XRP chart in a visible decline adding that maybe this happens because he reminds them (XRP investors) that they only make insiders rich when “they are forced to pump the coin on Twitter,” reflecting on the highly speculative nature of the coin.
Nevertheless, Gasparino has gone on a reply spree, responding to several jabs targeted at him from the XRP community. He clearly states that their opinion won’t prevent him from doing his job as a reporter and that he will only tell it as he sees it.
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