Kraken announces XRP freeze for US residents

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced it is freezing XRP trading for U.S. residents by January 29, following enforcement action by regulators against Ripple Labs Inc.

The decision follows a filing by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against parent company Ripple Labs Inc. for failing to register with the regulator—despite selling over $1 billion in tokens.

As a result, Kraken users will no longer be able to trade in XRP, and are being advised to settle their positions as soon as possible to avoid disruption.

According to a notice posted to the cryptocurrency exchange’s website, the freeze could take place at any time on January 29.

“Given the recent SEC filing against Ripple Labs Inc., we are halting XRP trading for U.S. residents no later than January 29, 2021 at 5pm PT (January 30, 2021 at 1:00 UTC). We may begin implementing this process at any time on January 29, 2021, so all U.S. clients are strongly encouraged to resolve their positions prior to that day.”

“After January 29, 2021, U.S. residents will not be able to trade XRP. We intend to cancel open XRP orders and liquidate open XRP positions for U.S. residents on January 29, 2021. U.S. residents are strongly encouraged to resolve their positions prior to that day.”

While the move will not impact clients outside the U.S., the decision to freeze out domestic Kraken users will impact the trading options available to those dealing in XRP.

The decision comes as the latest blow to Ripple and XRP, following the filing from the U.S. securities regulator in December 2020.

The crypto token and its parent company have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators in recent months, with the SEC action highlighting alleged compliance failures with securities laws.

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