Breaking News: Major U.S. exchange Bitstamp announces it will halt XRP trading for U.S. customers starting in January next year.

Established in July 2011, Bitstamp is the seventh largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, on par with the heavyweight U.S. exchange Kraken.

Established in July 2011, Bitstamp, ranked seventh in global trading volume, is a heavyweight U.S. exchange that emerged around the same time as Kraken.

In the early hours of the 26th Taiwan time, Bitstamp announced that due to the SEC's allegations against Ripple, XRP may be classified as a security. As a result, trading and deposits of XRP for U.S. customers will be halted at 9 p.m. U.S. time on January 8th, which is 5 a.m. Taiwan time on January 9th.

The platform stated that it will continue to monitor the situation and respond accordingly. U.S. customers can still withdraw XRP, while users outside the U.S. will not be affected.