XRP News Today: XRP Price Surges 8.5% as Ripple Set to Receive $75 Million from SEC Lawsuit Settlement

The long-standing legal dispute, which began in December 2020, has finally concluded with Ripple agreeing to pay a reduced penalty of $50 million—down from the initially proposed $125 million. In a significant turn of events, the SEC will return $75 million of previously escrowed funds back to Ripple.

The settlement marks the conclusion of one of the most heavily tracked crypto cases. The SEC initially charged Ripple with raising more than $1.3 billion in unregistered securities offerings through the sales of XRP. But later, the court determined that even though Ripple’s programmatic exchange sales were not within federal securities law, its direct institutional sales of XRP did violate it.

The SEC has officially filed a settlement letter in the Ripple vs. SEC case. Source: Cryptoinsightuk via X

SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw criticized the outcome, stating, “This settlement…does a tremendous disservice to the investing public and undermines the court’s role in interpreting our securities laws.” Despite such remarks, the agreement provides long-awaited clarity around XRP’s regulatory status.

With the lawsuit now settled, the XRP price has responded positively. The cryptocurrency surged more than 8.5% over the past 24 hours, rising above the key resistance level of $2.25. The bullish momentum continued into Friday’s trading session, with XRP briefly testing the $2.40 level and eyeing further gains.

XRP was trading at around $2.40, up 8.52% in the last 24 hours at press time. Source: XRP Liquid Index (XRPLX) via Brave New Coin

According to crypto analyst Aayush Jindal, “XRP price remained supported above the $2.12 level and started a fresh upward wave… The price might face resistance near the $2.350 level. A clear move above that could open the door for a rally toward $2.50 or even $2.63.”

Technical indicators point to growing bullish sentiment. XRP is currently trading above the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average, with strong support forming around the $2.30 level. If the momentum holds, traders anticipate a possible breakout beyond the $2.42 and $2.50 resistance levels.

Glassnode data show that whales have bought approximately $2 billion worth of XRP in the past 30 days. This uptick in whale buying is reflective of increasing confidence in the medium-term future of XRP, especially as regulatory concerns improve.

However, analysts caution against excessive enthusiasm. Even following recent gains, XRP’s year-to-date gain remains modest—up just 1% and still 35% off January highs. In addition, whales offloaded 370 million XRP in early April, which indicates ongoing volatility.

Still, the recent accumulation appears to signal that big players expect XRP value to stabilize before another leg up. Whether this translates into sustained bullish momentum depends largely on broader market conditions and Ripple’s next moves.

With the XRP lawsuit behind it, Ripple is wasting no time positioning itself for aggressive growth. The company recently acquired brokerage firm Hidden Road for $1.22 billion and is reportedly exploring new acquisition targets. A $5 billion proposal to buy stablecoin issuer Circle was declined, but further domestic and international expansion appears to be on the horizon.

XRP price could hit the all-time high near $3.39 if the price holds above the $2.40 support. Source: KRIZZ_FOREX on TradingView

Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, has emphasized the company’s resilience during the legal proceedings. “Despite the lawsuit, Ripple has continued to innovate, expand, and build trust with financial institutions,” Garlinghouse said in a March announcement confirming the case’s conclusion.

The clarity from the court’s decision could also aid Ripple in pushing for an XRP ETF and increase adoption of Ripple’s enterprise solutions. Some believe that the court’s partial ruling in Ripple’s favor strengthens the argument that XRP is a commodity rather than a security—potentially opening new regulatory doors.

With the suit settled and $75 million being refunded, Ripple has more capital to invest now. This can spur new projects on the Ripple ledger network and lead to increased usage of XRP on Ripple exchanges.

Further, the legal clarity should lead to institutional players like Ripple partner Bank of America probing Ripple technology further. With increased retail demand and the revival of optimism in crypto markets, the Ripple market may be primed for further growth.

For now, traders are keeping a lookout at key price levels like the $2.42 and $2.50 resistance levels to see if the bullish breakout will persist. Either way, this week’s lawsuit update for XRP is a turning point for Ripple and the whole crypto sector.