Summary
- The SEC case is deemed to have taken a turn in favor of Ripple.
- Ripple’s re-listing on crypto-exchanges likely to spur further price spikes.
- Ripple counting on Central Bank Digital Currencies as a key frontier for growth.
XRP prices were up by 1.2% today, trading at $0.5595 at the time of writing. The crypto-asset has been riding on favorable developments in its case against the Securities and Exchange Commission in the initial stages of the case. After a double-digit rise in price over the past few days, XRP is now 0.7% lower than it was last week, although the market remains mostly bullish.
More re-listings to come?
As the crypto-market awaits the outcome of the SEC versus Ripple case, some analysts are hopeful for a favorable outcome for Ripple. In anticipation of this, Lykke, a crypto exchange in Switzerland, has already re-listed XRP on its trading platform. The firm had removed XRP in mid-January, after two years of listing, in response to the SEC case.
The move by Lykke was announced via a tweet by company CEO Richard Olsen. In his assessment of Ripple, he expressed his belief that XRP stood a good chance of interlinking blockchain-based currencies and fiat currencies in the future.
Expanding the territory
In its recent outlook, Ripple has revealed in a white paper that it plans to bridge the gap between various Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The platform foresees an ecosystem where XRP will enhance efficiency and speed between different CBDCs.The document highlights the limited application of CBDCs within domestic markets as an impediment that has to be overcome.
Ripple stated that for that to be achieved, then CBDCs from different countries must be integrated on a seamless platform, which it hopes to provide. This will ultimately facilitate international commerce via blockchain.
The SEC versus Ripple case has significantly affected XRP’s price movements, with most investors choosing to keep off. However, in the clearest signal as to what a favorable outcome for Ripple could result in, the cryptocurrency has recently made gains due to new developments in the case.
Going by data from Lunacrush, within three days from March 22nd, XRP mentions on social media rose by 309%. The data also revealed that 80% of those mentions were bullish about XRP. That effectively establishes it above 0.500 for days.
The tangible outcome, but is it sustainable?
The market rally can be traced to comments attributed to Jeremy Horgan. In his analysis of responses to the case, the attorney revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission might have unintentionally helped XRP.
He interpreted the SEC’s response to mean that there would be no legal repercussions for exchanges that list and allow trade in XRP. This triggered an upsurge in calls to re-list XRP, with the hashtag “relist XRP” trending for a long time on Twitter. This led to increased pressure among investors to buy XRP.
The pressure was not just on individuals but also on institutional investors. Wallet addresses for the so-called “whales” have significantly increased over the past few days. The number of whales whose addresses hold 10 million XRP tokens or more has risen by 4.9% over the past two weeks, representing an additional 15 new addresses with more than $5million worth of XRP purchases.
The current XRP price rally is delicately hinged on the SEC lawsuit. While the initial developments might have favored Ripple, a loss on the lawsuit could send prices tumbling down.
Technical outlook
XRP/USD will find the first support at $0.4705, while the second support will be established at $0.5411. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently at 40, indicating market neutrality. If, however, the bulls take charge, then the XRP/USD pair will drive up to $0.5783, where it will meet resistance. A break past this point will send prices to $0.6000 territory.
