XRP Bears Reverse All SEC Ruling Gains, What’s Next?

Trading at around $0.51, XRP bears have fully reversed all gains posted on July 13, looking at price action in the daily chart. Although bulls are optimistic, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for these traders, and bears have been active, shaving gains and putting buyers on the backpedal.

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As it is, the path of least resistance, looking at the price action from 2023 peaks to date, is southwards. 

Presently, XRP is down 45% from July 2023 highs. Though prices are higher relative to last week’s lows, the coin remains under immense selling pressure.

Looking at price charts, XRP prices are trending inside the August 17 trade range, a bear candlestick, suggesting that sellers have the upper hand unless there is a significant spike above $0.60 with rising volumes. This could ignite demand, lift sentiment, and allow buyers to resume the uptrend.

The ruling by Judge Analisa Torres on July 13 went against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) claims that XRP is a security. In late 2020, the SEC alleged that Ripple, the blockchain company that uses XRP in one of their payment solutions, raised billions by selling the token, violating securities laws. Ripple’s executives, including Brad Garlinghouse, were also sued.

Last month’s landmark ruling, in favor of Ripple and its executives, reignited demand, but the momentum appears to be fizzling since bears have completely peeled back gains.

According to coin trackers, XRP has a market cap of $27 billion and is technically the fourth largest cryptocurrency excluding Tether (USDT), when writing on August 22. The coin is more liquid than Cardano, Solana, and Dogecoin at this valuation. 

It is only trailing Ethereum, Bitcoin, and BNB. Its gap with BNB is narrowing to around $5 billion. The woes around Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, with regulators and banks, especially in the United States, could heap more pressure on BNB. In that way, the coin may drop in valuation, allowing XRP to be the third-largest network in the world.

While price action in the daily chart predominantly points to bears, the recent bounce from lower prices after the dump on August 17 may signal strength. Whether buyers will build on this development and resume the uptrend in the direction of the July 13 bar remains uncertain. What’s also clear is that trading volumes are relatively low compared to the wide-ranging bar of mid-July that still shapes the current preview.