The world’s richest man and X (formerly Twitter) boss Elon Musk can’t seem to stop running into trouble. After getting sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the billionaire has come under fire over the suspension of an XRP-related account.
Musk-led X delivers a shocker
As of October 6, the X account of Digital Asset Investor.XRP — known for its vocal campaigning for XRP tokens — had been suspended. While X officials have yet to comment on the abrupt suspension, the news has left many puzzled and triggered an intense debate over censorship.
That escalated quickly
Crypto Eri – a distinguished name in the crypto community – has demanded an explanation from Musk and questioned whether the suspension was a “mistake.” While some came to Musk’s defense, saying the @digitalbuyasset account was suspended to curb potential scams on the platform, Crypto Eri maintained that the suspension was uncalled-for.
“I have been doing my part to stick to the facts. Even when I’m called the crypto police or part of the cancel culture. That’s not been fun. I have empathy because he built his whole channel around using the X platform,” Crypto Eri said in a tweet.
With the controversy surrounding @digitalassetbuy account suspension escalating, several renowned industry advocates, including pro-XRP attorney John Deaton, have taken note of the incident. While some believe it was an isolated incident, others see it as a sign of potential censorship within the X community.
The SEC-Ripple saga
XRP is the native digital asset of Ripple Labs, which has been embroiled in a legal dispute with the SEC. The regulator maintains that Ripple broke securities law by selling unregistered securities.
In July, Ripple scored a partial win in its legal battle against the SEC, with US District Judge Analisa Torres ruling that Ripple’s XRP token was not a security when sold to the broader public on exchanges. While the SEC had sought to challenge the landmark Ripple ruling, Judge Torres rejected the regulator’s motion to appeal her decision earlier this month.
In other news, the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Musk—claiming he failed to testify in its probe related to his $44-billion acquisition of Twitter. The billionaire has hit back, accusing the SEC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) of abusing their regulatory powers for personal and political gain.
