Riding the wave of the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), XRP has emerged as one of the favored choices among investors, experiencing a surge in popularity and attracting significant capital inflows.
Over the past seven days, $2.6 billion has flowed into the XRP market, signaling a strong vote of confidence from the investment community. The market capitalization has risen to $27.19 billion, representing a notable 10% increase compared to the $24.56 billion recorded on May 27.
This influx of capital has also translated into a steady rise in XRP’s price, with the token currently maintaining its position above the $0.50 mark. By press time, XRP was trading at $0.52, boasting weekly gains of nearly 11%.
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Impact of SEC legal battle
The recent surge in XRP’s price could be attributed to several factors, with the ongoing case remaining the dominant factor. Indeed, the asset is still building on the buzz created following the ruling by presiding judge Annalisa Torres to order the SEC to produce documents related to a 2018 speech by William Hinman, the former Director of Corporation Finance for the SEC.
In the speech, Hinman expressed his view that Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, should not be considered a security under U.S. law.
This ruling by Judge Torres allows the SEC to redact personal information but rejects the regulator’s claim of privilege over the documents. Ripple’s requests to redact certain information, such as contracts and financial data, were partially granted but denied for details concerning XRP. The disclosure of these documents could potentially impact XRP’s legal status as a security or non-security.
Additionally, the crypto community is eagerly awaiting the summary judgment date for the case. In this line, pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton predicts that the matter could be resolved by September, considering the public release of Hinman speech documents by June 13, 2023.
Deaton suggests that Judge Torres will likely deliver the judgment by the end of September 2023, aligning it with the availability of the Hinman exhibits for a more informed decision.
Influx in onchain activity
Elsewhere, XRP capital inflow has coincided with increased onchain activity. For instance, XRP experienced its second and third-largest address activity spikes in history within two days. This uptick in activity suggests potential substantial changes in the network’s market position.
According to on-chain analytics firm Santiment, the number of addresses interacting with the XRP Ledger has reached an unprecedented level of 490,000. This figure is not far behind the largest spike recorded on March 18, which led to a remarkable 45% surge in XRP’s price over the following ten days.
Ripple’s recent lock-up of 900 million XRP tokens has also partly contributed to the cryptocurrency’s bullish trend. These locked tokens provide a controlled supply release into the market, allowing investors to anticipate and respond to market conditions.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
