According to one technical analyst, XRP’s price reached an all-time high on Wednesday, possibly paving the way for the cryptocurrency to rise as high as $4.40.
XRPUSD is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
+4.04% surged to an all-time high of $3.02 on Wednesday, per Dow Jones Market Data. Late Wednesday morning, it was trading at about $2.94, up 10.5%.
As the Securities and Exchange Commission appealed a court decision against Ripple Labs Inc., the company that created the cryptocurrency and its namesake blockchain technology, XRP soared in value.
In 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, claiming that the company had sold XRP, a digital asset security, unlawfully and without registering with the agency.
A federal judge decided in July 2023 that although Ripple’s sales to high-level institutional investors did qualify as an unregistered sale of investment contracts, which is against federal law, XRP is not a security when sold to the general public on digital-asset exchanges.
The court decision was later challenged by the SEC, and the agency has until Wednesday to submit an opening brief.
Crypto bulls have been anticipating that the SEC will finally dismiss the issue after President-elect Donald Trump takes office again on January 20. Trump stated that he would appoint former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, who is recognized for being more accommodative to the crypto industry, to succeed current SEC Chair Gary Gensler as SEC chair. Many members of the crypto industry view Gensler’s position on crypto as “hostile.”
Bulls in cryptocurrency have been waiting for the SEC to ultimately drop the matter when President-elect Donald Trump returns to office on January 20. According to Trump, current SEC head Gary Gensler would be replaced as SEC head by former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, who is known for being more accommodating to the crypto industry. Gensler’s stance on cryptocurrency is perceived by many in the sector as “hostile.”