- XRP’s price movements in the coming weeks will likely continue to be hinged on the SEC case.
- Ripple Lab’s Southeast Asia market will provide strong support to absorb shocks that might emanate from the lawsuit.
Ripple was on the upswing once again today, building on its newfound momentum to rise by 6.5% in 24 hours. At the time of this writing, the XRP price was $0.626 and had gained 13.4% over its price 7 days ago.
Cautious optimism over SEC lawsuit
Ripple Labs is hoping for better days ahead in its relationship with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the entry of new chair Gary Gensler. Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed his optimism for the thawing of relations with the SEC, based mainly on Gensler’s perceived support for cryptocurrencies, going by his previous comments. Gensler’s background as a crypto expert could also play a critical role in building a synergistic relationship.
Gary Gensler’s appointment is expected to be approved in April. His looming appointment is yet another boost for XRP, whose prices have surged in the past two weeks due to perceived favorable outcome for Ripple in its case against the SEC. Until recently, the SEC lawsuit had led to a 70% price collapse for XRP from December 2020.
According to Ripple CEO, the firm’s troubles are a result of regulatory unclarity about cryptocurrencies in the US market. He has expressed optimism that a well-defined regulatory environment similar to those in Singapore, Japan, the UK, and Switzerland will result in an upturn for Ripple and enhance the performance of the crypto-market. The new SEC leadership could therefore trigger a major price rally for XRP.
In another significant development this week, according to data provided by Whale Alert, Ripple Labs withdrew 1 billion XRP worth $575.6 million yesterday. The tokens had been held in an escrow account, but the move by Ripple Labs will make them available for purchase, thus boosting liquidity.
The latest development is in line with Ripple Labs’ strategy, where it releases 1 billion XRP tokens every month to fund its operations and invest in startups.
In other news, XRP has been relisted by CoinMarketCap, after a brief removal yesterday. The move had caused panic among some investors, having come at a time when XRP is fighting to be relisted in crypto-exchanges that delisted it due to the SEC lawsuit.
Southeast Asia expansion strategy paying off
On the investment front, Ripple has a 40% acquisition of Tranglo. The move is geared towards expanding Ripple’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Tranglo is a Malaysian fintech company that offers cross-border payment solutions. After having hit turbulence in the US market, Ripple lost a formidable partner in Western Union but the Asia-Pacific region has offered a reprieve.
While the Tranglo acquisition is subject to approval, it is expected to be finalized by the end of this year. Ripple has attributed the move to the increasing demand in the region, whose payments ecosystem it describes as “highly fragmented.”
Ripple is counting on Tranglo’s broad market base consisting of 130,000 cash pickup points, 2,500 mobile operators, and 1,300 wallets or banks spread across more than 100 countries. Ultimately, the company hopes to launch its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) on Tranglo’s reach to introduce XRP-based money transfer, similar to the arrangement it had with its estranged partner, Western Union.
Technical outlook
XRP price will find the first support at $0.546, while the second support will be at $0.572. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 57. This will likely keep prices above $0.580 for most of the coming days. However, a stronger push by the bulls will drive the price towards the resistance level at $0.651.
