XRP Price Soars 14% as SEC Drops Its Appeal in the Long-Running Legal Battle with Ripple

The XRP cryptocurrency has seen a notable price increase following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to drop its appeal in the long-running legal battle with Ripple.

The price of XRP cryptocurrency soared 14% on Sunday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it would not appeal a court ruling that a key part of its case against Ripple was dropped.

The SEC’s decision marks a major victory for Ripple, which had been battling the agency in court for more than four years. The agency sued Ripple in 2020, alleging that the company sold unregistered securities in the form of XRP tokens.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the SEC’s actions were “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion” and "unreasonable." The judge also said that the SEC had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its claims.

As a result, the judge dropped the part of the case related to the SEC’s Enforcement Division. However, several other options remain open.

Specifically, Ripple could continue its own appeal, the parties could return to trial court, or they might agree to settle without amending the judgment.

Alternatively, if the Supreme Court rules against the agency in the case of SEC v. Coin Center, which is due to be heard in November, then the entire case might be dropped.

Another possibility is that Congress could pass legislation on digital assets before the case can be fully adjudicated, which might also lead to the case being dropped.

The SEC has now decided not to pursue any further appeal in the case.

After opening Sunday’s trading session at $2.24, XRP/USD surged 13.6% to reach highs of $2.54.

The cryptocurrency had been trading in a descending trend line since March 12, limiting any major price rallies.

As seen in the chart above, large investors have been steadily accumulating XRP despite the market's volatility in recent months.

According to crypto analytics firm Santiment, wallets holding at least 1 million XRP increased their holdings by 6.5% over the past two months.

It goes without saying that this price boost is also directly correlated with the SEC officially dropping its appeal against Ripple today. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has already deemed this a 'resounding victory' for the entire crypto community. 👍

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 16, 2024These whale investors now hold a combined 46.4 billion XRP tokens. At current prices, this represents approximately $114 billion in value.

Network activity has shown tremendous growth. Santiment’s data shows that March saw six times more unique wallets interacting with the XRP blockchain compared to previous months.

Technical Analysis

Technical analysts are making bullish predictions on the XRP chart.

Crypto analyst Dark Defender shared an updated daily chart of XRP/USD showing a breakout above a key technical pattern.

The analyst applied Elliott Wave theory to project future price movements for XRP. According to this analysis, XRP completed a corrective phase and is now entering a new impulsive wave structure.

The chart identifies Wave (1) starting from a local low of $1.79 and peaking around $2.55. This was followed by Wave (2), which pulled back to Fibonacci support zones.

Wave (3), typically the strongest in Elliott Wave theory, is projected to reach the 161.80% Fibonacci extension around $3.94. The analysis suggests XRP could potentially rise to the $4.50 region.

Upon completion of Wave (3), a corrective Wave (4) might pull prices back to the $3.78-$3.94 range. The final Wave (5) is projected to reach the 361.80% Fibonacci level at $4.92.

Some projections suggest XRP could even surge above $6 before completing the current Elliott Wave cycle. These ambitious targets would represent price levels not seen since the 2017-2018 bull market.

In a separate development, Garlinghouse spoke about President Donald Trump’s executive order from early March, which proposed a national crypto reserve.

This strategic digital asset stockpile could potentially include XRP among other cryptocurrencies. The possibility adds another dimension to XRP’s future prospects.

With increasing regulatory clarity following the conclusion of the SEC case and the potential for broader institutional interest, the coming months will be pivotal for XRP’s price performance.

As broader crypto market momentum continues, XRP may benefit from the overall positive sentiment.