After a prolonged legal battle, XRP gained partial regulatory clarity when the court declared it not a security in the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) case, a factor anticipated to boost its price. However, while there was an initial surge post-legal clarity, XRP later corrected to align with the broader market.
In this line, pro-Ripple lawyer Bill Morgan, in an X (formerly Twitter) post on November 29, expressed his surprise and concern over the seemingly sluggish price performance of XRP compared to other major cryptocurrencies.
Morgan raised questions about the peculiar market behavior of XRP even after the digital asset obtained legal clarity following a period of scrutiny by the SEC. He suggested that XRP would have likely maintained a growth trajectory similar to other cryptocurrencies without the legal case.
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“Wow. I never realized XRP’s price performance was this poor compared to other major coins and not only compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum. It has, of course, been under the cloud of an SEC investigation and then lawsuit that entire period but you would think it would have caught up more after obtaining legal clarity. Very strange,” he said.
Why is XRP stagnating?
The lawyer made this observation in response to a post that pointed out that XRP was trading at $0.50 five years ago, whereas Bitcoin (BTC) was valued at $6,420. Currently, XRP is slightly above the $0.50 mark, while Bitcoin aims for the $40,000 mark.
Interestingly, Morgan contested the idea that the stagnation in Ripple’s price is solely due to selling pressure.
The legal expert presented a three-point argument, highlighting that the quarterly release of 3 billion XRP from escrow is offset by 800 million XRP returned monthly. He emphasized the insignificance of the monthly release of 200 million XRP compared to the daily trading volume, suggesting minimal impact.
Additionally, he pointed out that the inflation rate from Ripple’s escrow release is 5.4%, lower than other projects like Flare and Solana (SOL).
The SEC case impact
Notably, despite XRP gaining some clarity from the case, legal uncertainty around the matter is still lingering. The possibility of the SEC appealing the court’s decision on Programmatic Sales has introduced uncertainty into the asset’s future price direction.
Ongoing negotiations between the SEC and Ripple regarding XRP sales to institutional investors are underway. The resolution of these talks or a definitive disgorgement ruling can impact the token’s valuation.
There is also speculation about a potential Ripple-SEC settlement following reports of a closed-door meeting by the financial regulator. A settlement could trigger optimism among XRP holders, potentially prompting a buying frenzy fueled by the Ripple community’s tendency to rally around positive news.
As of press time, XRP grapples with maintaining its price above $0.60, experiencing daily losses of approximately 1% as it trades at $0.60. On the weekly chart, XRP shows a decline of over 2%.
Meanwhile, apart from legal concerns, XRP is poised for potential growth if Ripple’s technology gains adoption in various jurisdictions.
