The ongoing legal battle between blockchain payment company Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is nearing its conclusion. Given this, unexpected complications may arise as negotiations over remedies and other specifics are settled.
XRP Price Action Amid Ripple and SEC Uncertainty
Although the biggest surprise occurred last July when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP itself is not an investment contract, other twists may soon emerge. One of these potential developments involves the latest arguments from both Ripple’s and the SEC’s lawyers concerning the sealing of confidential documents.
While both parties await the court’s decision on the remedies to be imposed on Ripple Labs for selling XRP to institutional investors, the court may decide to allow the sealing of some disputed financial documents. The exact documents Ripple Labs is attempting to conceal and their potential impact on the broader market remain uncertain, but XRP might not respond favorably to any such ruling.
The lawsuit filed in December 2020 caused XRP’s price to take a hit. Despite the July 2023 ruling from the U.S. SEC, XRP has managed to stay above the $1 mark, indicating that many investors are determined to hold their ground as the lawsuit concludes.
Related: SEC Officially Approves 8 Ethereum Spot ETFs
At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5177, down 1.34% in the past 24 hours. The coin has been trading in a tight range from a low of $0.48 to a high of $0.57 over the past month. Although expectations for a breakthrough remain high, unexpected developments in the Ripple and SEC case could further push this currency downwards.
XRP Price Breakthrough, ETF Expectations
Many analysts believe that XRP’s price is merely in a dormant state and that a breakout is only a matter of time. Several catalysts could contribute to this breakthrough, albeit in the long run.
One of these catalysts is the prospect of an XRP ETF in the United States approved by the SEC, a product that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is optimistic about. With the emergence of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, many cryptocurrency industry leaders believe that assets like XRP and Solana (SOL) will also eventually secure related products; it’s just a matter of time.
