XRP price capped at $0.55 despite retail holdings nearing all-time highs

Ripple wallets holding up to one million XRP are close to their all-time highs on Wednesday.
Legal expert Fred Rispoli expresses concerns about a second round of the legal battle between Ripple and the SEC.
XRP remains range bound below $0.55 on Wednesday.

Ripple price (XRP) failed to break resistance at $0.55 early Wednesday as traders continue to digest Ripple’s recent response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) allegations of illegally selling XRP as a security.

About the legal battle, cryptocurrency industry attorney Fred Rispoli said a second round of litigation between Ripple and the SEC is likely. Rispoli added that the payment-remittance firm is in a great position to win the lawsuit, but also that there are “ominous signs.”

Daily digest market movers: Ripple on-chain metrics show signs of investor confidence

The number of wallets holding between 1 and 1 million XRP tokens is nearing all-time highs, according to on-chain intelligence tracker Santiment data.

XRP wallets holding between 1 and 1 million tokens

Addresses holding small volumes of an asset are typically considered retail wallets. As retail investors’ XRP holdings are near all-time highs, it signals increasing confidence among market participants.
Despite the ongoing legal battle with the SEC and regulatory hurdles faced by Ripple in the US, retail traders have increased their holdings consistently in 2024.
Attorney Fred Rispoli, a legal expert in the crypto community, shared his take on Ripple’s response filed on April 22. Rispoli states that the parties are likely posturing for a second round of litigation as Ripple said in its filing that “Ripple tells Court if SEC wants to sue on the new contracts, it needs to bring a new enforcement action (p16).”

From suing .gov agencies multiple times over the years, the incompetency and/or corruption at such places is off the charts. It's not a show that Ripple is in on. It is 100% a hit job but the degree of the malfeasance can only be known once we look at all the internal docs…
— Fred Rispoli (@freddyriz) April 24, 2024

Technical analysis: XRP stuck below $0.55, likely to test resistance

Ripple’s recent uptrend has lost momentum after its price failed on Monday to break above $0.57, a level that aligns with the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA). XRP price target is the psychologically important level of $0.60, but before it has to overcome key resistance levels at $0.5574 and $0.5951. These two levels represent the 61.8% and 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of XRP decline from April 9 top of $0.6431 to April 13 low of $0.4188.

XRP price could tackle these resistances on its path to $0.60 and target the April 9 top of $0.6431 thereafter.

The green bars above the neutral line on the Moving Average Convergence/ Divergence (MACD) indicator show underlying positive momentum in XRP price uptrend. The MACD line crossed over the signal line on Monday. This crossover is typically considered a bullish sign for the asset’s price.

XRP/USDT 1-day chart

A daily candlestick close below $0.5310, the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the decline from the April 9 top to April 13 low, could invalidate the bullish thesis. Further down, XRP could find support at the April 13 low of $0.4188.

Crypto ETF FAQs

What is an ETF?

An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment vehicle or an index that tracks the price of an underlying asset. ETFs can not only track a single asset, but a group of assets and sectors. For example, a Bitcoin ETF tracks Bitcoin’s price. ETF is a tool used by investors to gain exposure to a certain asset.

Is Bitcoin futures ETF approved?

Yes. The first Bitcoin futures ETF in the US was approved by the US Securities & Exchange Commission in October 2021. A total of seven Bitcoin futures ETFs have been approved, with more than 20 still waiting for the regulator’s permission. The SEC says that the cryptocurrency industry is new and subject to manipulation, which is why it has been delaying crypto-related futures ETFs for the last few years.

Is Bitcoin spot ETF approved?

Bitcoin spot ETF has been approved outside the US, but the SEC is yet to approve one in the country. After BlackRock filed for a Bitcoin spot ETF on June 15, the interest surrounding crypto ETFs has been renewed. Grayscale – whose application for a Bitcoin spot ETF was initially rejected by the SEC – got a victory in court, forcing the US regulator to review its proposal again. The SEC’s loss in this lawsuit has fueled hopes that a Bitcoin spot ETF might be approved by the end of the year.

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