The SEC’s decision to repeal its long-standing gag rule has sparked fresh discussion around Ripple, but the move does not change the company’s legal position. Ripple never settled with the SEC and chose full litigation instead, which means it was never bound by the speech restriction in the first place.
As cited in the report, Marc Fagel said no court ever ordered Ripple to stay silent, and the company openly criticized the SEC throughout the case. The repealed rule applied to parties that entered settlements under a “neither admit nor deny” framework and barred them from making public statements that cast the agency in a negative light. Ripple took a different route from the outset.
Unresolved XRP issues remain in place
The repeal was announced by SEC Chair Paul Atkins. For companies and founders that previously settled with the regulator, the change removes a limit on public opposition. For Ripple, though, the decision does not alter its legal status. It also leaves several unresolved questions around XRP untouched, including its market standing, possible sanctions, and asset classification.
The article notes that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty had already been speaking publicly against the SEC’s crypto stance during the proceedings. That makes the rule change largely irrelevant to Ripple’s ability to comment on the case or on regulation.
Binance to remove 8 trading pairs on May 22, 2026
The same report says Binance will delist eight trading pairs effective May 22, 2026, part of what the exchange described as an effort to improve order book quality and reduce low-volume markets. The affected pairs are CHZ/BTC, IOTA/BTC, XLM/BTC, AVAX/ETH, UNI/ETH, UNI/FDUSD, XLM/FDUSD, and FET/BNB.
Binance said user token balances will not be affected. Trading in assets such as UNI, AVAX, and XLM will continue through more active and more liquid pairs. The report adds that some cross pairs tied to Uniswap, Stellar, FDUSD, and BTC had seen limited liquidity, which drove the cleanup.
SlowMist flags another Shai-Hulud malware wave
Security firm SlowMist also warned of a new spread of the self-replicating “Shai-Hulud” malware, the fifth detection in eight months, with Web3 developers and the JavaScript ecosystem in its sights. Its MistEye monitoring system identified a fast-moving outbreak.
The latest strain can abuse AI coding assistants including OpenAI Codex, Claude Code, and Visual Studio Code as hidden entry points. It tampers with files such as .claude/settings.json and .vscode/tasks.json, allowing the malicious code to reactivate each time a developer starts a new project. Attackers compromised the npm account of a developer using the alias “atool” and published more than 600 malicious packages.
Once inside a system, the malware seeks AWS and Azure cloud credentials, API keys, seed phrases, and pipeline secrets, then encrypts and sends the data to attacker-controlled servers. The exfiltration is disguised as normal GitHub API traffic. SlowMist urged affected teams to scan projects immediately, migrate to safe package versions, reset access keys, and clean AI tool configuration files.
Bitcoin holds between $76,800 and $79,800
On the macro side, crypto markets remained volatile during the week. According to live CryptoAppsy data cited in the article, Bitcoin has stabilized in a range between $76,800 and $79,800. Traders are watching Kevin Warsh’s upcoming move into the Fed chair role and the effect of rising U.S. inflation on rate expectations.
Delphi Digital’s LMOS index showed leveraged activity declining while flows were rotating back toward Bitcoin. The report says tighter liquidity could support Bitcoin’s market dominance over altcoins during the next 12 months. Attention is now turning to the May 20 release of the FOMC minutes for clearer rate signals. Recent data showed U.S. consumer inflation at 3.8%, while higher oil prices and bond yields pushed the probability of a rate hike to 37.4%.
Markets are also waiting for the SEC’s expected “innovation exemption” announcement. The article says such a rule could open the door to 24/7 blockchain-based equity trading and tokenized share issuance, though the regulatory picture had not been settled at the time of publication.