Kraken has secured a major victory in an ongoing legal battle between Ripple and a group of XRP investors. The crypto exchange intervened in the lawsuit to protect its customers’ data, arguing that the information of these individuals shouldn’t be released without their permission.  

What Kraken’s Victory Means For Its Customers

The court ruled that Kraken should be allowed to inform its customers of the proposed class action, with these users deciding whether or not they wanted to be part of the legal battle. The customers in question happen to be persons who purchased XRP tokens on the crypto exchange between July 3, 2017, and June 30, 2023. 

Kraken is expected to send these customers a notice informing them of the proposed class action against Ripple and how they could have an important stake in the case. The crypto exchange will also let them know that they can choose to do nothing or exclude themselves which would mean that they are not interested in joining the class action. 

Before now, the court had ordered US crypto exchanges, including Kraken, to reveal XRP transactions that occurred within that time frame. This was meant to help the plaintiff identify users who could be included as members in the class action against Ripple. However, instead of simply abiding by the court’s order, Kraken chose to protect the privacy of its users. 

Crypto Sleuth Mr. Huber commended the crypto exchange for this action, noting that Kraken was the only exchange that chose to protect its clients’ identity and personal data. Meanwhile, this case no doubt provides a precedent for what data privacy in the crypto space could look like going forward. 

Token price succumbs to bear pressure | Source: XRPUSD on Tradingview.com

What The Proposed Ripple Class Action Is About

The class action, also known as the Zakinov case, involves a class of XRP investors led by Vladi Zakinov who are suing Ripple for selling the XRP token as an unregistered security. These investors are seeking to get some form of compensation from the crypto firm for their actions, although Ripple had argued that the class shouldn’t be certified. 

Meanwhile, the bearing of this case is considered to be of huge significance, considering that the SEC’s case against Ripple also borders on their sale of XRP as an unregistered security. There is also the belief that Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling that XRP isn’t a security in itself could somehow have an impact on whatever decision is made in the Zakinov case. 

Featured image from Binance, chart from Tradingview.com