Ripple extends gains as XRP traders await end of SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit

Ripple XRPLedger’s native token XRP rallied to $0.6333, the highest level in 99 days.
XRP extends gains as the market absorbs selling pressure from the 150 million XRP sent to Ripple 1 wallet in July.
XRP holders speculate the end of the SEC lawsuit against Ripple, settlement rumors across social media platforms.
XRP trades around $0.6200 at the time of writing, up nearly 7% on Wednesday.

Ripple (XRP), XRP Ledger’s native token, extended gains by nearly 7% on Wednesday. The sixth largest asset by market capitalization rallied for the tenth consecutive day and erased all losses from the last 99 days.

XRP tested $0.6333 on Wednesday, and it is trading around $0.6200 at the time of writing.

Daily digest market movers: Ripple extends gains in uptrend that started on first anniversary of Judge Torres ruling

Ripple rallies on the back of three key market movers:
- One-year anniversary of the Judge Analisa Torres ruling, where XRP sales on secondary markets (crypto exchanges) were accepted as “non-security,” on July 13.
- Ripple released 150 million XRP tokens to a wallet tagged “Ripple 1” after moving the asset out of escrow. The market absorbed the selling pressure from the early July transfer, and XRP extended gains for the tenth consecutive day.
- Attorney Fred Rispoli said he expects the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vs. Ripple lawsuit to end in July 2024, at the latest by July 31. Pro-XRP attorneys and analysts have sparked settlement rumors on social media platforms like X, fueling anticipation of the lawsuit’s end among XRP holders.
Ripple’s 150 million XRP transfer holds significance since the wallet tagged Ripple 1 is typically the one where assets are moved, prior to their transfer to crypto exchange platforms.
Attorney Fred Rispoli’s tweet elicited a positive response among XRP traders.
While settlement rumors make the rounds on X, retired securities lawyer Marc Fagel believes “Ripple violated federal law” shares opinion in a comment on Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s interview.

Or, alternatively, why would we have a partisan divide over whether companies should violate federal law?
— Marc Fagel (@Marc_Fagel) July 16, 2024

Crypto analyst behind the X handle @Leerzeit has reached out to the legal expert on more than one occasion to end the speculation surrounding the SEC lawsuit settlement.

Hey @Marc_Fagel why would the SEC see Ripples post-Complaint contracts governing “Institutional Sales." for the determination of remedies? To settle it for the future? Is it wrong to assume that the SEC would have to file charges for these sales before they have any bearing on… https://t.co/6xuCPIbvJO
— Mr. Huber (@Leerzeit) January 11, 2024

Technical analysis: Ripple tests $0.63 level on Wednesday

Ripple is currently in an upward trend, forming higher highs and higher lows since July 8, as seen in the XRP/USDT daily chart. XRP tested $0.63 on Wednesday, trading at $0.6200, at the time of writing.

The momentum indicator, Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), shows green histogram bars above the neutral line, supporting a positive underlying momentum in Ripple’s uptrend.

XRP could extend gains by more than 15% and revisit its 2024 peak at $0.7440.

XRP/USDT daily chart

Ripple could find support at $0.6058 and $0.5632, at the 61.8% and 50% Fibonacci retracement levels of the decline between the March 11 top of $0.7440 and the July 5 low of $0.3823.

SEC vs Ripple lawsuit FAQs

Is XRP a security?

It depends on the transaction, according to a court ruling released on July 14: For institutional investors or over-the-counter sales, XRP is a security. For retail investors who bought the token via programmatic sales on exchanges, on-demand liquidity services and other platforms, XRP is not a security.

How does the ruling affect Ripple in its legal battle against the SEC?

The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Ripple and its executives of raising more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered asset offering of the XRP token. While the judge ruled that programmatic sales aren’t considered securities, sales of XRP tokens to institutional investors are indeed investment contracts. In this last case, Ripple did breach the US securities law and will need to keep litigating over the around $729 million it received under written contracts.

What are the implications of the ruling for the overall crypto industry?

The ruling offers a partial win for both Ripple and the SEC, depending on what one looks at. Ripple gets a big win over the fact that programmatic sales aren’t considered securities, and this could bode well for the broader crypto sector as most of the assets eyed by the SEC’s crackdown are handled by decentralized entities that sold their tokens mostly to retail investors via exchange platforms, experts say. Still, the ruling doesn’t help much to answer the key question of what makes a digital asset a security, so it isn’t clear yet if this lawsuit will set precedent for other open cases that affect dozens of digital assets. Topics such as which is the right degree of decentralization to avoid the “security” label or where to draw the line between institutional and programmatic sales are likely to persist.

Is the SEC stance toward crypto assets likely to change after the ruling?

The SEC has stepped up its enforcement actions toward the blockchain and digital assets industry, filing charges against platforms such as Coinbase or Binance for allegedly violating the US Securities law. The SEC claims that the majority of crypto assets are securities and thus subject to strict regulation. While defendants can use parts of Ripple’s ruling in their favor, the SEC can also find reasons in it to keep its current strategy of regulation by enforcement.

Can the court ruling be overturned?

The court decision is a partial summary judgment. The ruling can be appealed once a final judgment is issued or if the judge allows it before then. The case is in a pretrial phase, in which both Ripple and the SEC still have the chance to settle.

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