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XRP’s Retracement Seems Likely Before Knocking Off $2-mark

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XRP has increased to levels not seen in the past three years. Owing to the ongoing bull run, the cryptocurrency market amassed a $2.2 trillion market cap in total as top cryptocurrencies continued to tread uncharted territories. XRP, alone was up by almost 100% over the past seven days.

With the rapid increase in its price, it further strengthened its position as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency in the leaderboard. The crypto-asset was priced at $1.77 after surging by almost 5% over the past 24-hours. At the time of writing, it registered a market cap of $80.67 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $30.55 billion.

It appears as if SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple has failed to deter the market participants this bull season. Where is XRP’s price headed in the near-term?

XRP Daily Price Chart:

XRP1

With the parabolic rise, XRP’s price has continued to surge at a massive pace as it doubled its price in a matter of just a week. Along with the volatility in the coin market, the trading volume also remained surprisingly high. This was indicative of the fact that the current momentum is strong which could aid in a leg up in the near term.

The upsloping moving averages continued to support the crypto-asset from an event of market downturn.

XRP3

The dotted markers of the Parabolic SAR continued to hover below the XRP price candles for almost a month now, depicting that the bulls are here to stay.

The rising volume along with the protracted bullish crossover by the MACD was also indicative of the strength in the coin market as buying demand spiked.

The RSI was also in the well into the overbought zone depicting a sentiment of buying pressure among the investors. It was also an over-leveraged indicator which could further signal a retracement in the coming days.

XRP’s resistances were found to be at $1.92, $2.01, and $2.17 respectively. The 50 DMA [Pink] and the 100 DMA [Blue] acted as crucial support points for the coin at $0.6 and $0.5.

Ripple’s CTO Says Holders With ‘Life-changing’ Amounts Of Coins Should Consider Selling

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The chief technology officer of the blockchain platform Ripple, David Schwartz says that it is now time to “seriously consider”offloading coins from the bag.

The cryptocurrency market has been roaring yet again. The collective market cap was currently towering at $2.22 trillion while Bitcoin’s price drove well above $64K for the first time ever as Coinbase awaits its debut on Nasdaq.

While some might argue that this is not a time to sell, and rather side with the ongoing accumulation trend despite the high prices on the charts, Ripple exec, on the other hand, asserted that buying is not “morally superior” to selling and that selling is not selfish. His tweet read,

“This is probably going to be my least popular tweet ever, but: If you have life-changing amounts of cryptocurrency, please take some time to seriously consider selling some to reduce your risk and exposure. This is not any kind of prediction about what the market will do.”

Schwartz went on to acknowledge that he has been consistent in “de-risking” for many years now. While he wishes that it had not been the case, the exec poined that Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Stellar, and probably many more are currently at prices that mean people might have “life-changing amounts at risk”.

Having said that, the Ripple CTP did clarify that he was not making any kind of predictions regarding the cryptocurrency market.

“I definitely was not making any kind of future prediction there. I have no particular sense of what the market is going to do. I wish I did.”

Ripple-SEC Tussle

XRP

XRP has been performing exceptionally well in the market and even established a three-year high. The crypto-asset was currently priced at $1.81 after amassing gains of more the 93% over the past week. It has remained fairly unfazed by developments with respect to Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC].

Just yesterday, Judge Sarah Netburn had reportedly granted a motion to dismiss SEC’s request that sought years’ worth of financial records belonging to the executives of the blockchain company.

XRP Nears $1.4 Despite Looming Trend Reversal Hints

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XRP has been on a tear and has performed extremely well over the past week. The crypto-asset amassed gains of 127.85% over the same period. Its price has remained unfazed by the developments in the SEC’s lawsuit against blockchain firm Ripple and has kept on surging off late and has reached its highest level since January 2018.

XRP rose by 18.67% over the past 24-hours which catapulted its price to $1.37. At the time of writing, the crypto-asset recorded a market cap of $62.94 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $30.38 billion.

The latest price action signaled a strong bullish market sentiment, and buyers are likely to drive prices higher. XRP has broken several multiple resistance and was currently eyeing for its ATH level.

XRP Daily Price Chart:

XRP 1

The rising volatility has induced an absolute rampage that causing a parabolic increase in the crypto-asset’s price.

Momentum was found to be strongly in favor of the bulls, even as there is a beginning of a bearish divergence that appeared to emerge. Furthermore, both 50 [Pink] and 100 [Blue] upsloping moving averages have continued to hover below the price candles forming crucial support levels.

XRP2 1

The technical indicators have been witnessing a steadily rise in demand. The MACD, for instance, have been on the bullish region since the last two weeks depicting a increasing buying pressure.

The Chaikin Money Flow [CMF] was also on the rise indicating an increasing inflow of money into the coin market. The RSI was found to be in extremely overbought territory and is exhibiting signs of bearish divergence as the crypto-asset makes a higher high. Hence, there could be an imminent reversal in the trend.

Looking ahead, the resistance level lies at $1.56. If the bulls did manage to attract more gains, XRP could find target another resistance level of $1.94, not seen since the 2018 bull run.

On the other side, the support points were found at $0.581 and $0.47 respectively.

Ripple’s Former And Current CEO’s Financial Records Irrelevant To Ripple vs SEC Case

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Ripple’s latest tiff with the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] of the United States of America proved to be hefty for the platform as well the cryptocurrency XRP. While XRP slumped to a new low, Ripple was busy hiring lawyers to fend off the allegations made by the SEC. The SEC went on to charge Ripple for the sale of unregistered securities, despite the fact that several regulators across the globe pointed out that XRP was not a security.

However, things seem to be turning out favorable for the platform. Just as XRP was seen getting back on its feet, the SEC was denied access to the personal financial records of Brad Garlinghouse as well as Chris Larson, the current and former CEO of the platform, respectively.

Ripple Scores Big Against The SEC

The SEC not only charged Ripple, but also the execs of the company like Garlinghouse and Larson. The SEC even went on to seek the personal financial records of the aforementioned individuals for the case. Larsen filed a motion urging the court to dismiss this. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn ruled in favor of the execs by suggesting that these records were irrelevant to the case.

Furthermore, the court’s ruling was revealed in a recent tweet by Leonidas Hadjiloizou, a member of the XRP community. The tweet read,

Ripple

The ruling read,

“The SEC’s Requests for third-party subpoenas make broader requests, however, that would result in the disclosure of an immense trove of private financial information with no relevance to whether the Individual Defendants offered or sold XRP into the public market or promoted its sale to potential investors.”

Additionally, the court went on to approve Ripple’s request to view the SEC’s documents pertaining to the case. This was a huge step up for the platform as it would help them assess the SEC’s reason behind categorizing XRP as a security.

Ripple To Assess Docs That Drove SEC To Label XRP As A Security

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The Ripple vs SEC lawsuit has taken multiple turns to date. While the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] of the United States stuck to its assessment of categorizing XRP as a security, Ripple tried to persuade the financial watchdog to view XRP as mere a cryptocurrency. After multiple attempts of a settlement, none of the parties agreed to do so, further persisting the lawsuit.

More recently, the Ripple was subject to some good news after the U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn decided to grant the platform access to SEC’s documents that played a role in assessing XRP as a security. This seemed highly beneficial for the platform as XRP has been enduring nothing but losses. Despite, its plunge towards $1, the asset once again dropped by over 17% in the last 24-hours.

Ripple vs SEC

While Judge Netburn exempted staff-to-staff email from this latest motion, the SEC was ordered to give Ripple access to all other documents that mentioned XRP. The Judge also provided both parties the option to raise issues with the ruling. As per Law360, the Judge added,

“I’m going to grant, in large part, the defendants’ motion.”

Several regulators across the globe have been assertive about how XRP was not a security. However, the SEC continued to retain its decision. With the latest development in favor of the crypto platform, Brad Garlinghouse’s counsel, Matthew Solomon suggested that the SEC’s allegation would not stand if Ripple garners any piece of evidence that suggests XRP was similar to assets like Bitcoin [BTC] or Ethereum [ETH].

In a recent filling addressed to Judge Netburn, the SEC stated,

“For almost a decade, the SEC watched as XRP grew and developed, all the while issuing no formal guidance that its sales may be illegal. The SEC did, however, announce that sales of two similar digital assets — bitcoin and ether — were not securities offerings.”

Coinbase Amasses Green Signal From SEC For Direct Listing

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Cryptocurrencies have been garnering a lot of attention across the globe. Exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, Bitfinex, and several others have been trying to keep up with the ongoing demand in the existing market.

Amidst this increase in the demand for crypto, prominent San Francisco-based exchange, Coinbase revealed that it was going public with a direct listing. More recently, the exchange announced that it had managed to secure permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] of the United States and is all set to make a debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in the coming week.

Coinbase was subject to a lot of commotion following the constant glitches in its platform, particularly during peak volatility periods. Despite this, the platform took a plunge into going public. While the platform initially revealed that it would go public with an initial public offering [IPO], it then decided to do a direct listing.

Coinbase Scheduled To Go Public On April 14

In a recent blog post, the cryptocurrency exchange revealed that the SEC had given the platform an all-clear for the registration statement on Form S-1 with regard to its direct listing. The platform is all set to start trading its Class A common stock under the ticker symbol “COIN” on the  Nasdaq Global Select Market. Users would be able to do so starting from 14 April 2021.

The announcement read,

“Coinbase Global, Inc., today announced that its registration statement on Form S-1, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), relating to a proposed public direct listing of its Class A common stock was declared effective by the SEC on April 1, 2021.”

Additionally, a couple of weeks ago, the exchange went on to publish its financial results for 2020. While this was mandatory following the S-1 regulatory filing required to go public, it was revealed that the platform had bagged profits of over $322 million last year.

SEC Files Suit Against LBRY; Firm Says ‘Future of Crypto At Risk’

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Yet another cryptocurrency-focussed fundraising activity see to have irked the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States.

In the latest development, the country’s federal government agency has filed a lawsuit against the decentralized content publishing platform, LBRY Inc., wherein it accused the company of conducting an unregistered securities offering in the form of its token.

The complaint has charged LBRY with violating the registration provisions of Sections 5[a] and 5[c] of the Securities Act of 1933. The agency has also sought “permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties”.

According to the complaint, the digital content marketplace allegedly sold digital asset securities called “LBRY Credits” to several investors, including investors based in the US.

The regulatory watchdogs also alleged that LBRY did not file a registration statement for the offering and that the offering failed to satisfy any exemption from registration. The official document read,

“The complaint further alleges that by failing to file a registration statement, LBRY denied prospective investors the information required for such an offering to the public.”

Moreover, LBRY allegedly received over $11 million in not just USD but also in cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, and services from buyers who participated in its offering.

However, the complaint noted that it has accused LBRY of failing to register their tokens as securities and not a fraud. Hence, if the New Hampshire-based crypto startup agrees to pay the settlement charges with the regulatory agency, the agreement would require, the LBRY to compensate the investors, pause the offering and pay back all fees it had already raked in.

Reaction To SEC Suing LBRY

LBRY had shrugged off the allegation in its latest tweet,

“HELP US SAVE CRYPTO. The future of crypto in the US is at risk. The SEC is suing us and saying LBC is security – it’s not! Essentially, they brought the case against us because we’re the biggest. If we lose, the entire industry in the US at risk. All crypto is at risk.”

Several notable individuals in the cryptocurrency industry have criticized the latest move. Attorney Jeremy Hogan also tweeted,

“Ripple wasn’t the first and won’t be the last. The whole industry is at risk.”

Many of them even compared the claims with regards to the lawsuit brought about for the blockchain company Ripple by the agency in last December. Lawyer Jesse Hynes stated that the claims against LBRY “are far less egregious than the claims against Ripple”.

Ex-SEC Chairman Clayton To Embark On A New Role As Crypto Advisor

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Former Chairman of the United States SEC, Jay Clayton is all set to join the regulatory advisory council of One River Asset Management.

He has taken the advisory role at the hedge fund’s newly formed Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council.

Stint At The SEC

Clayton had previously as Chair of the SEC from May 2017. He has been at the receiving end of severe criticism after declining Bitcoin ETF proposals throughout his years of service in the federal government agency. During this three-year stint, Clayton has also said that he does not see Bitcoin trading on a major exchange until it is “better regulated”.

He bid adieu to the role in the SEC in December 2020. Before stepping down, the American Attorney had filed the bombshell lawsuit of $1.3 billion against Ripple wherein he accused the blockchain firm of selling XRP as an unregistered security.

Besides, Clayton was recently appointed as the non-executive Chair of Apollo Global Management recently.

Role As A Crypto Advisor

According to the official press release by One River Digital Asset Management, Kevin Hassett, Vice President and Managing Director of The Lindsey Group, and Jon Orszag, Senior Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee of Compass Lexecon, will also join One River’s advisory council along with the former SEC exec.

In a joint statement, the ex-SEC Chairman, Hassett and Orszag reportedly said,

“We were impressed by Eric’s willingness to hear our varying views on the digitization of our monetary, banking, and capital markets ecosystem and One River’s commitment to transparency. We look forward to working with One River as the effects of digitization on our markets play out across the globe.”

With regards to One River Asset Management, the asset manager has emerged as an important player in the cryptocurrency industry, especially in late 2020. It had reportedly raked a whopping $600 million in crypto-assets in one of the largest public transactions with the cryptocurrency. Currently, the firm manages more than $2.5 billion in institutional assets.

Fidelity Subsidiary Plans To Launch Bitcoin ETF

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Bitcoin ETFs have become increasingly popular as Bitcoin continued to flirt with its ATH. Fidelity Investments becomes the latest entrant in the join the race and is now prepping up the roll-out of its own Bitcoin ETF. According to the official document, the investment giant’s affiliate, FD Funds Management, has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] to seek approval for the “Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust,”

The preliminary filing revealed that “Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust” would hold the crypto-asset and value its shares on the basis of its prices from major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and Bitstamp.

Fidelity’s statement to Reuters read,

“The digital assets ecosystem has grown significantly in recent years, creating an even more robust marketplace for investors and accelerating demand among institutions. An increasingly wide range of investors seeking access to bitcoin has underscored the need for a more diversified set of products offering exposure to digital asset”

Fidelity-backed trust does not plan to sell the crypto-asset, but will rather use it to settle certain expenses, which under current guidance of the IRS will be deemed as a sale of such virtual currency.

Bitcoin ETF Gains Traction

The US SEC has rejected all the Bitcoin ETF proposals in the past. It had acknowledged a proposal from VanEck last week. In addition, there are four applications in total that are pending review by the authority which included- NYDIG Asset Management, WisdomTree Investments, Valkyrie Digital Assets, and VanEck Associates Corp.

Unlike its US counterpart, Canada’s regulatory authority has been quite progressive. In Feb-March, three Bitcoin ETFs went live back-to-back on the Toronto Stock Exchange after receiving the stamp of Bitcoin ETF.

Just last week Brazil became the first country in the Latin American region to approve the exchange-traded fund. This was launched by asset manager QR Capital and is slated to go live by June this year.

“RelistXRP” Starts To Surface As Ripple vs SEC Lawsuit Persists

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The term “RelistXRP” has been taking over Twitter. The XRP army seems to be urging several cryptocurrency exchanges to relist the altcoin.

The last couple of months have been rough for the XRP community. With the Securities Exchange and Commission [SEC] of the United States of America charging Ripple of selling unregistered securities. This allegation led to an array of cryptocurrency exchanges delisting XRP from their platform. While Ripple has time and again stressed that XRP wasn’t a security, SEC prolonged their argument.

While the XRP community has been trying to be a part of the lawsuit citing lack of representation, the community is trying to induce XRP back into the exchanges that ousted the altcoin.

RelistXRP Trends In Netherlands, Australia and US

A couple of weeks ago, the XRP community sought participation in the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit, however, this plea to intervene was condemned by the judge. While this attempt failed, the XRP community decided to help the altcoin find a way back into the crypto exchanges. The hashtag, “RelistXRP” was reportedly trending in the Netherlands and has been doing so in the US, United Kingdom as well as Australia for the last couple of days.

About 35,000 tweets pertaining to this movement were noted in the Netherlands. A Twitter user also a member of the XRP community, MackAttackXRP, tweeted about the same. The tweet read,

“The Twitter campaign #RelistXRP under which the XRP community is calling on crypto exchanges worldwide to relist XRP has managed to be “trending” in the US and in The Netherlands.”

RelistXRP

Furthermore, over 30,000 tweets in the U.S. and about 24,000 in Australia with the hashtag “RelistXRP” were trending on Twitter.

An array of platforms including OKCoin, Crypto.com, Bittrex, eToro, Genesis, Wirex, Abra, Coingate, Coinbase, Binance.US, iTrustCapital, Nexo, Blockchain.com, Bitstamp, and several others decided to drop support for the altcoin. The XRP community was seen pushing the aforementioned exchanges to relist the altcoin.