Ripple's legal uncertainty dismissed by XRP whales who continue accumulating heavily

• XRP price pulled back near a critical supply barrier as the altcoin market slows down.
• According to Ripple's quarterly markets report, despite the SEC lawsuit, 90% of XRP volume remains intact.
• Whale accumulation hints at a potential price recovery.

XRP price could be heading to greener pastures as a recent report reveals that transaction volumes continue increasing despite legal uncertainty. Meanwhile, high net-worth individuals resumed a buying frenzy. 

Ripple moves business outside of the U.S. due to legal uncertainty

XRP price suffered a massive setback after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission slapped Ripple with a class-action lawsuit. According to the distributed ledger firm, the charges against it triggered "uncertainty for U.S. players" around this cryptocurrency and stifled "American innovation and progress." 

An important development to the case is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filing. Ripple recently requested the financial watchdog to provide information on how it ruled-out Bitcoin and Ethereum as non-securities. The company hopes that such documentation can help with the case's dismissal.

While the lawsuit has caused some of the most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges to delist or suspend trading activity for XRP, Ripple's Q4 2020 report states that "90% of XRP volumes remained intact [because] many market participants moved forward with business related to XRP outside the U.S."

Moreover, Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) saw a 12x year-over-year growth in transaction volumes and the addition of fifteen new customers. At the same time, SBI Holdings announced the addition of XRP to the cryptocurrency lending service.

XRP price holds above critical support while whales buy the dip

XRP price managed to pull itself from the slump at the beginning of the month. This cryptocurrency's market value rose by a whopping 200%. But a steep correction followed because traders took advantage of the rising price action to exit their underwatered positions. 

While volatility remains high, XRP price continues to hold above the $0.40 support level showing signs that it wants to maintain its upward momentum.

XRP/USD 1-day chart

Indeed, XRP whales come out of the woodwork and are increasing their holdings at an exponential rate. The number of addresses holding 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 XRP increased roughly by 2.60% since February 1. 

Such behavior indicates that whales are confident about XRP's future. 

XRP Hodlers Distribution chart

As long as XRP price continues to hold above the $0.40 support level, the odds will favor the bulls as the buying pressure seen recently will be reflected on its market value. However, slicing through this barrier could result in a 20% downswing to $0.24.

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