Binance announces Ripple-USDC listing on the exchange; XRP price remains above $0.600
- XRP price failed the breach of $0.644 resistance for the second time in the past two weeks to trade at $0.631.
- The broader market cues are witnessing a slowdown in the bullishness but are sustaining above the $0.600 mark.
- Binance announced the listing of new trading pairs of Ripple and other altcoins with USDC (USD Coin).
XRP price is witnessing consolidation, making minimal growth since the 19% crash of mid-November. External factors are not contributing much either, given Ripple has remained largely away from any kind of rally even as Binance Spot listed a new XRP trading pair.
Ripple reaches Binance with USDC
In a blog post on Wednesday, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, announced that it would be opening trading for ten new crypto pairs. These include assets such as Ripple, Cardano, Avalanche, Solana, etc.
Binance spot listing announcement
These altcoins are paired with USD Coin (USDC) and will be available to trade starting December 28. This is a positive development in the case of Ripple as spot listing with the second largest stablecoin is likely going to increase liquidity and attract more buyers, resulting in a price rise.
However, this might take a while.
XRP price remains in consolidation mode
XRP price trading at $0.631 has been moving sideways for the past couple of days, remaining in consolidation mode within the $0.600 and $0.644 range. The bullishness that has been at a halt since mid-November is yet to resume.
This is evinced from the failed breach of the resistance level in the last 48 hours, suggesting Ripple might continue the sideways movement until a significant development takes place. For now, the best bet is the New Year hype or the upcoming spot Bitcoin ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) approval.
These events could drive the price beyond the $0.644 resistance level, potentially flipping into a support floor to push it further towards $0.700.
XRP/USD 1-day chart
But if the breach fails again, the bullish thesis would be invalidated, and XRP price will remain sideways bound until whales and bulls take control of the market.
SEC vs Ripple lawsuit FAQs
Is XRP a security?
It depends on the transaction, according to a court ruling released on July 14:
For institutional investors or over-the-counter sales, XRP is a security.
For retail investors who bought the token via programmatic sales on exchanges, on-demand liquidity services and other platforms, XRP is not a security.
How does the ruling affect Ripple in its legal battle against the SEC?
The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Ripple and its executives of raising more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered asset offering of the XRP token.
While the judge ruled that programmatic sales aren’t considered securities, sales of XRP tokens to institutional investors are indeed investment contracts. In this last case, Ripple did breach the US securities law and will need to keep litigating over the around $729 million it received under written contracts.
What are the implications of the ruling for the overall crypto industry?
The ruling offers a partial win for both Ripple and the SEC, depending on what one looks at.
Ripple gets a big win over the fact that programmatic sales aren’t considered securities, and this could bode well for the broader crypto sector as most of the assets eyed by the SEC’s crackdown are handled by decentralized entities that sold their tokens mostly to retail investors via exchange platforms, experts say.
Still, the ruling doesn’t help much to answer the key question of what makes a digital asset a security, so it isn’t clear yet if this lawsuit will set precedent for other open cases that affect dozens of digital assets. Topics such as which is the right degree of decentralization to avoid the “security” label or where to draw the line between institutional and programmatic sales are likely to persist.
Is the SEC stance toward crypto assets likely to change after the ruling?
The SEC has stepped up its enforcement actions toward the blockchain and digital assets industry, filing charges against platforms such as Coinbase or Binance for allegedly violating the US Securities law. The SEC claims that the majority of crypto assets are securities and thus subject to strict regulation.
While defendants can use parts of Ripple’s ruling in their favor, the SEC can also find reasons in it to keep its current strategy of regulation by enforcement.
Can the court ruling be overturned?
The court decision is a partial summary judgment. The ruling can be appealed once a final judgment is issued or if the judge allows it before then. The case is in a pretrial phase, in which both Ripple and the SEC still have the chance to settle.
Author
Aaryamann Shrivastava
FXStreet
Aaryamann Shrivastava is a Cryptocurrency journalist and market analyst with over 1,000 articles under his name. Graduated with an Honours in Journalism, he has been part of the crypto industry for more than a year now.
