Though hardly spared by the most recent cryptocurrency market downturn, XRP has remained stronger than most other prominent cryptocurrencies.
While both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have collapsed to lows not seen since Donald Trump’s re-election, XRP remains 325% above its November 1 prices despite falling to $2.16.
Such relative calm can, most likely, be attributed to an external factor that has been bearing heavily on the token’s performance across multiple years: the legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs.
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Is the SEC pivotal for XRP’s next move?
This week, the Commission sent a veritable deluge of notices to numerous cryptocurrency companies indicating it is either dropping the existing charges against them or not moving forward with enforcement following lengthy probes.
While major firms and platforms like Coinbase and OpenSea have been graced with such decisions, Ripple has been notable for its absence.
Indeed, many analysts and traders were expecting a rather swift resolution to the courtroom saga following Gary Gensler’s departure from the agency, as evidenced by the 539.62% rally between November 1 and January 17.
Likewise, the fact that investors are still waiting helped drive XRP’s decline in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration. At press time on February 28, it appears highly likely that the market is holding off on major buying or selling activity as many estimate the SEC’s decision may be imminent.
The anticipation is also evident in the rumor that Trump’s Crypto Task Force met with lawyers this week, allegedly to discuss dropping the case against Ripple.
Still, the rumor is likely false given the somewhat cryptic ‘no’ reply on a widely circulated X post claiming the meeting took place left by Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terret.
Terret, who has been tracking the cryptocurrency industry closely for years, did, on the other hand, claim that U.S. regulators are moving quickly toward providing legal clarity to the industry by ‘defining security status.’
Why XRP traders might soon have to move with or without SEC
XPR, for its part, may make a major move as soon as March 1 with or without an SEC decision, given the planned 1 billion token unlocking scheduled for the day.
Beyond the immediate volatility and regulatory anticipation, technical analysis (TA) indicates that XRP could move lower, possibly toward $1.60, in the near future, though there remained a case for a rally to $3 and beyond as recently as February 27, as Finbold reported on the day.
Featured image via Shutterstock
