XRP, at the center of a fierce legal battle with significant implications for the industry, has taken the lead in the recent rally in cryptocurrency prices amid growing speculation that Ripple, the blockchain payments company behind XRP, could be on the verge of settlement with US regulatory authorities.
Ripple-SEC legal dispute continues
Over the past week, XRP has experienced a significant boost of over 40%, reaching its current trading price of $0.6161. This is the highest level XRP has reached since April, while the overall market During the same period, there was a more moderate boost of around 12%.
The legal dispute stems from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple Labs in 2020. The SEC accused Ripple of violating its rules by conducting an “unregistered securities offering” through the sale of XRP.
In a blow to the SEC, a U.S. district judge he ruled in July last year, stated that the sale of XRP to retail investors on exchanges does not constitute an investment contract.
The speculation was fueled by a “closed meeting” on the SEC’s website scheduled for July 18. While an SEC spokesperson declined to comment, investors and traders are interpreting it as a potential development regarding the status of XRP.
However, former SEC attorney Marc Fagel released rumors of an imminent settlement between the SEC and Ripple, stating that closed meetings of this type have become routine since the lawsuit was filed.
XRP pro-XRP lawyer Fred Rispoli also weighed in, expressing skepticism about the likelihood of a pre-sentence settlement. While negotiations on outstanding arguments are possible, Rispoli added that a resolution before the court issues a ruling seems unlikely.
Rispoli speculates that Judge Analisa Torres will order a fine of less than $25 million and no restitution of Ripple’s ill-gotten funds, which contrasts with the SEC’s request for a $102.6 million fine. Ripple, on the other hand, has proposed a $10 million fine.
XRP Price Breakout, Analyst Predicts Huge Gains
The price of XRP has reached a 4-month high following a pointed downtrend, and cryptocurrency analyst Dark Defender has stated that the token could begin to gain sharply if one key level is broken during the current rally.
IN social media postDark Defender highlighted that XRP has entered qualification mode, bouncing off the recent “frontier” at $0.3917.
According to Dark Defender, if XRP manages to break above $0.6649, the price could head towards the $18-$36 range, implying a 2,810% boost in the case of the former range and a potential 5,740% boost in the case of the latter.
In addition, the token has exceeded its 200-day validity period. exponential moving average (EMA), marked by the yellow line on the daily XRP/USD chart, which previously formed a clear wall of resistance.
If it consolidates above the 200-day EMA, we could see further price growth as trading above it has always resulted in significant profits in the XRP price as seen in the chart below.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
