XRP price extends losses to $0.61, erasing most weekly gains

XRP price is down nearly 5% on Friday, extending a week-long correction since hitting its year-to-date high at $0.7440 on Monday. The altcoin’s price decline follows a broader retreat in cryptocurrency markets as XRP traders brace for an important deadline in the the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple on March 22, when the regulator is set to file their remedies-related opening brief. 

Also read: XRP price plummets to $0.67 as holders brace for SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit deadline

Daily digest market movers: SEC gears up for key deadline after previous high-profile loss in Ripple case

• The US financial regulator’s remedies-related opening brief deadline is March 22.Nearly a week away before the event, XRP price has nosedived to a $0.61 low. 
• The SEC brought 46 enforcement actions against crypto firms in 2023, a 53% increase from the regulator’s lawsuits related to crypto in 2022. 
• The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance discussed the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit. The discussion focused on how the regulator focused on whether digital assets will be considered securities and whether securities laws apply to cryptocurrencies. 
• In the July 13 ruling, presiding Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s sale of XRP on digital exchanges does not constitute the sale of securities. This is being referred to as a “high profile loss,” by Harvard Law since the regulator’s enforcement actions were then limited to Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP. 

Harvard Law discusses SEC enforcement. Source: Corplaw.harvard.edu

Technical Analysis: XRP price could recoup its losses

XRP price declined to a low of $0.61 on Friday. The altcoin found support at $0.6117, the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level, in its downward move. If the altcoin corrects further lower, it could drop to $0.5758, the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of the altcoin’s rally to its 2024 peak. Once XRP price sweeps this last level, the altcoin could begin its recovery. XRP could make a comeback to its $0.7440 high. 

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads 52.99, close to neutral and signaling indecisiveness among investors. The green bars on the Awesome Oscillator (AO) suggest the altcoin could see positive momentum and the uptrend remains intact, despite the weeklong correction in XRP. 

XRP/USDT 1-day chart 

A daily candlestick close below the $0.5758 level could invalidate the long-term recovery thesis for XRP and suggest further correction in the altcoin. The February low of $0.53 could become relevant as support for XRP.