XRP price plummets to $0.67 as holders brace for SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit deadline
- XRP price corrected to $0.67 on Thursday as a key SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit deadline approaches.
- Ripple and SEC’s lead attorneys Andre Ceresney and Jorge Tenreiro dived into government enforcement in crypto in a recent panel discussion.
- Crypto expert Martin Hiesboeck weighs in on the possibility of an XRP Exchange Traded Product.
XRP price falls slightly on Thursday, trading at around $0.67, below its 2024 peak of $0.7440. Investors brace for a key deadline in the Securities and Exchange Commission vs. Ripple lawsuit on March 22, which could potentially affect XRP price as it is the native token of the XRP Ledger payment network developed by Ripple.
Meanwhile, crypto experts are speculating on the likelihood of an XRP Exchange Traded Product (ETP) following the recent approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs. A recent panel discussion also featured lead attorneys for both Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighting their different approaches in terms of how the sector should be regulated.
Also read: XRP price climbs 17% weekly, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse comments whether XRP is the next Bitcoin
Daily digest market movers: Attorneys of Ripple and SEC weigh in on enforcement of regulation in crypto
- XRP holders are gearing up for the potentially significant remedies-related opening brief of the SEC in the Ripple lawsuit, to be held on March 22.
- The attorneys of both sides commented on the regulation of crypto and its enforcement in a panel, titled “Government Enforcement in the Cryptocurrency Arena: Where Do Things Stand,” on March 12.
- The panel discussion was focused on criminal enforcement in cryptocurrency, covering Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange collapse, fraud, conspiracy, Binance’s CZ and the exchange’s settlement with the Department of Justice, the SEC’s lawsuits against top exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken for operating as unregistered national securities exchanges, brokers, dealers, and clearing agencies, among other things.
- Attorneys Andrew Ceresney and Jorge Tenreiro, representing Ripple and the SEC in the ongoing lawsuit, respectively, shared their thoughts on the “enforcement under current legislative and regulatory regimes and the evolution of cryptocurrency in the US,” according to Yale Edu.
- Crypto expert and head of research at UpholdInc, Dr Martin Hiesboeck, said on X that an XRP ETP is “around the corner”.
We are finally seeing the fruits of increased development on $XRP since the lawsuit was settled! An XRP ETP is around the corner too. There is life in the old girl.
— Dr Martin Hiesboeck (@MHiesboeck) March 12, 2024
- Bitcoin’s ongoing price rally and developments in the SEC lawsuit are the two catalysts that could influence the altcoin’s price in the coming weeks.
Technical Analysis: XRP price sustains above key support
XRP price is currently consolidating in a narrow range between $0.65 and $0.74. The altcoin is likely to sweep support at $0.6370, the 50% Fibonacci retracement of XRP’s rally to its year-to-date peak of $0.7440.
Once the altcoin collects liquidity at this level, sustained buying pressure could push XRP price first to the range high at $0.7440, aiming for the resistance level at $0.80. Sidelined buyers can gear up for the altcoin’s sweep of the $0.6370 level.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 62.92. This signals that XRP keeps bullish momentum while still below the overbought zone, giving room for the altcoin to climb higher. The green bars on the Awesome Oscillator also support the altcoin’s potential move to resistance at $0.7440, once the altcoin sweeps support at the aforementioned 50% Fibonacci retracement level.
XRP/USDT 1-day chart
A daily candlestick close below the $0.6370 level could invalidate the bullish thesis and XRP price can plummet to support at the psychologically important support at $0.60.
(This story was corrected on March 14 at 13:50 GMT to say that XRP keeps the bullish momentum below the overbought zone, not oversold.)
Ethereum FAQs
Ethereum is a decentralized open-source blockchain with smart contracts functionality. Serving as the basal network for the Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency, it is the second largest crypto and largest altcoin by market capitalization. The Ethereum network is tailored for scalability, programmability, security, and decentralization, attributes that make it popular among developers.
Ethereum uses decentralized blockchain technology, where developers can build and deploy applications that are independent of the central authority. To make this easier, the network has a programming language in place, which helps users create self-executing smart contracts. A smart contract is basically a code that can be verified and allows inter-user transactions.
Staking is a process where investors grow their portfolios by locking their assets for a specified duration instead of selling them. It is used by most blockchains, especially the ones that employ Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism, with users earning rewards as an incentive for committing their tokens. For most long-term cryptocurrency holders, staking is a strategy to make passive income from your assets, putting them to work in exchange for reward generation.
Ethereum transitioned from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism in an event christened “The Merge.” The transformation came as the network wanted to achieve more security, cut down on energy consumption by 99.95%, and execute new scaling solutions with a possible threshold of 100,000 transactions per second. With PoS, there are less entry barriers for miners considering the reduced energy demands.
Author
Ekta Mourya
FXStreet
Ekta Mourya has extensive experience in fundamental and on-chain analysis, particularly focused on impact of macroeconomics and central bank policies on cryptocurrencies.
