Despite Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse's Earlier Confidence in a Legal Victory

Despite Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse's earlier confidence in a legal victory

The price of XRP fell by 0.97% over the past 24 hours to reach $2.1882 by 08:38 ET (12:38 GMT) on Saturday morning. The world’s seventh-largest cryptocurrency was trading at a slight loss for a second consecutive day, continuing to flounder following a 0.14% slide on Friday.

The slight decrease in the price of XRP came as traders continued to digest the latest news surrounding the cryptocurrency. This included an update from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had yet to formally withdraw its appeal despite earlier announcements suggesting this had occurred.

Additionally, there was a technical glitch in the XRP Ledger that triggered community panic, leading to intervention from Ripple CTO David Schwartz to quell fears and provide clarification.

The SEC’s actions and the technical malfunction contributed to a 1.07% decline in the broader crypto market, reducing the total market capitalization to $2.94 trillion.

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As the SEC continues to face pressure to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, it seems the regulatory body is also juggling other priorities, including winding down its case against Ripple despite a ruling in favor of the crypto firm earlier this year.

Earlier this week, Garlinghouse said in an interview that they had reached an agreement with the SEC staff to dismiss the appeal, but it was pending the Commission’s vote at its next meeting.

“We have agreed with staff. We’re just waiting for the Commission to vote. Staff makes recommendations to the Commission, and then the Commission votes. The Commission hasn’t yet voted. But what we’ve agreed is to dismiss and move on,” Garlinghouse explained.

The SEC’s next closed meeting is scheduled for May 8, and the agenda includes a report from the staff on any matters that may affect the public interest.

The SEC’s decision to appeal Judge Torres’ ruling earlier this year sparked heated debate among crypto traders and legal experts. Judge Torres ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP did not violate securities laws, a verdict that could have broader implications for the crypto industry.

However, despite the ruling, the SEC is still planning to appeal against a lower court ruling that rejected its bid to collect testimony from former SEC Chair William Harrison in a case related to crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). This suggests that the SEC’s focus on crypto regulation is far from over.

The SEC’s actions will be closely watched by crypto traders, especially with the possibility of a U.S. XRP-spot ETF being approved by year-end. According to Polymarket, the odds of such approval have increased to 79%, up from 68% in late April. However, for this to happen, the SEC needs to completely exit the case by May 8.

If a U.S. ETF is approved, it could lead to increased demand for XRP and potentially spark a price breakout. Technically, XRP remains pinned below its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), indicating bearishness in the near term.

However, it’s still trading above its 200-day EMA, which provides support in the long term. The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 51.82, implying that there’s potential for further price increase before the RSI reaches the overbought territory.

As smaller altcoins continue to struggle, XRP is showing resilience. It’s the only top-10 coin that fought the U.S. government and survived, pointed out crypto influencer John Squire.

Moreover, RippleNet is present in 55+ countries with partnerships from SBI to Tranglo and Santander, highlighting the network’s reach in the global financial landscape.

This resilience could be crucial as we move towards the next phase of crypto adoption, Squire added.

With the SEC case lingering and technical glitches sparking debate, we’re at a crossroads for XRP. Will it finally break out of its seven-year-old all-time high or fall further into bearish territory?

Only time will tell, but the coming days could be pivotal as we await the SEC’s decision at its next meeting and the implications for the broader crypto market.