Kraken to halt XRP trading for U.S. users starting Jan. 29

Kraken is moving to halt XRP trading for U.S. users in light of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple.

U.S. based Kraken users will be unable to trade XRP from Jan. 29 at 5 p.m. PT, according to a statement published Friday by the exchange.

Those with spot positions on margin must satisfy any outstanding margin obligations by the close of Jan. 28 or face liquidation. They'll still be able to deposit, hold and withdraw XRP. The decision only affects U.S. customers — XRP markets will remain available to those outside the U.S. 

"We are monitoring the situation regarding the SEC's filing and will adapt according to any new developments," the exchange said.

The SEC brought its case against Ripple in December, alleging that the firm's sales of XRP qualified as an unregistered securities offering. Since the regulator filed the suit, a number of crypto venues have suspended XRP trading, including OKCoin, Coinbase, Bittrex, Genesis, Binance.US and eToro.