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Crypto

Great Expectation in Ripple Case! Will XRP Continue Its Rise?

XRP price surged on December 6, touching a three-week high of $0.65, up nearly 4.5% in two days. With this momentum, XRP has displayed a remarkable performance compared to many altcoins despite the declines in the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours. So what is expected for XRP in the coming period? We examine it together.

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Why is XRP Rising? With the price increases on the XRP front, Ripple's ongoing legal battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) came amid a potential settlement process. Accordingly, the SEC may seek a significant reduction in the fine expected to be imposed on Ripple Labs. In particular, a discovery process is still ongoing between the SEC and Ripple regarding solutions to Ripple's $770 million worth of XRP sales to institutional investors. Ripple expects to reduce potential settlement costs with the SEC by more than 50%, citing the Morrison vs. National Australia Bank case as an example.

By using Morrison vs. NAB as a precedent, Ripple can also argue that the SEC's jurisdiction does not extend to XRP sales to non-US investors. This is an important development for the case because a significant portion of Ripple's XRP sales were made to institutional investors outside the US. If Ripple can successfully show that these sales were outside the SEC's jurisdiction, the SEC is expected to significantly reduce the scope of the case and potentially the size of any fine or settlement. With this expectation, market analysts have become bullish on the price of XRP.

Whales Continue to Accumulate XRP The recent gains on the XRP side coincide with a period of strong accumulation among the richest investors. Accordingly, the supply of XRP held by addresses with token balances of more than 1 million has increased by 20 million so far in December. In the same period, the XRP price rose by about 8.5%, indicating that the whales are positioning themselves for more upside in the coming period. In particular, the increase in supply among the top 100 XRP traders shows that they are accumulating XRP at local high levels.

With all of this, the price surge on the XRP side can also be seen as part of a broader altcoin market rebound against Bitcoin. XRP's market capitalization has risen by nearly 5% in the last 24 hours, compared to Bitcoin's 0.82% decline. However, many investors may have shifted their funds from Bitcoin to altcoins like XRP, which have upside potential in the short term.