Ripple announces three major developments but fails to push XRP past $0.50
- Ripple announced the launch of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, Real USD, at the XRP Ledger APEX 2024 event.
- Ripple shared news of its acquisition of custodian, Standard Custody, and XRPL EVM sidechain this week.
- XRP remains stuck under $0.50; Ripple’s announcements fail to catalyze gains in the altcoin.
Ripple (XRP) made three major announcements this week. Despite the bullish developments, XRP is struggling to break past resistance at $0.50. Ripple’s stablecoin, XRPL EVM sidechain, and new acquisition have failed to catalyze gains in the ledger’s native token.
XRP is changing hands at $0.4874 at the time of writing. The altcoin remains range-bound under the sticky resistance at $0.50.
Daily Digest Market Movers: Ripple makes three major announcements this week
- Ripple, a payment remittance firm, announced the upcoming launch of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, Real USD (RLUSD), on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum in 2024.
- Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared his thoughts on the Real USD at the XRP Ledger APEX 2024 and said that he intends to ensure stability in the crypto market.
Real USD
— XRP (@BankXRP) June 12, 2024
Ripple CEO drops the new Stablecoin Name “Real USD”
The name of the @Ripple stablecoin, the $RLUSD, I like to call it Real USD… Ripple USD’ - Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) at #XRPLApex 2024
⚡ #XRP pic.twitter.com/T2CuT1Gdjb
- The second major announcement is the cross-border payment firm’s acquisition of the digital asset custodian Standard Custody.
- Ripple’s acquisition will help the firm with its stablecoin project and make progress in real-world asset tokenization.
- The firm closed its acquisition of the custodian on June 11, and Jack McDonald of Standard Custody is set to be appointed as Ripple’s senior vice president of stablecoins.
Very excited to share that as part of the deal close, I am joining @Ripple as the SVP of Stablecoins to lead the team bringing Ripple’s stablecoin to market later this year (though remaining CEO of Standard Custody as well)! https://t.co/qIWAeRJ8ll
— Jack McDonald (@_JackMcDonald_) June 11, 2024
- Back in 2023, Ripple acquired Metaco for its institutional crypto custody project and predicted that the market would reach $10 trillion by 2030 as banks offer digital custodial services to customers.
- The third major announcement is XRP Ledger’s EVM sidechain, which utilizes Axelar as the bridge protocol. This is expected to facilitate transfers between the XRP Ledger and EVM sidechains.
- Ripple users will explore new opportunities in DeFi and the Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization sector through the sidechain.
- XRP holders await developments in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple.
Technical analysis: XRP stuck under the $0.50 resistance
Ripple is in a state of decline since March 12. The altcoin is poised to extend its losses as momentum indicator Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) flashes red histogram bars under the neutral line.
XRP is trading at $0.4874 at the time of writing. Ripple could plummet to support at $0.4508, its June 7 low, as seen in the XRP/USDT 1-day chart.
XRP/USDT 1-day chart
If XRP sees a daily candlestick close above resistance at $0.53, it could invalidate the bearish thesis. The altcoin could begin its recovery and rally toward the Fair Value Gap (FVG) between $0.6029 and $0.5491, as seen in the 1-day chart.
SEC vs Ripple lawsuit FAQs
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
