The SEC Scores a Minor Victory in the Ripple Case to Peg Back XRP

Key Insights:

• On Tuesday, the SEC got a win in its case against Ripple Lab.
• Following a bruising week for the SEC, Tuesday’s win will provide minor relief.
• The main area of focus remains William Hinman’s emails and documents.
• Key technical indicators bullish. XRP sits above the 100-day EMA.

In the run-up to the holidays, the SEC had a bruising week in its case against Ripple Lab.

Going into the weekend, the SEC filed yet another extension of time to file its objection to Magistrate Judge Netburn’s ruling on the Motion for Reconsideration of the DPP Ruling.

For the SEC, the focus remains on documents and emails relating to internal discussions and speeches, which the SEC is looking to have portions redacted.

On April 11, Judge Netburn denied an SEC motion for the courts to reconsider a ruling relating to a William Hinman speech where Hinman stated that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are not securities.

The SEC’s extension request references Judge Netburn’s ruling from April 11 and a previous decision dated January 13, 2022.

This week, the SEC got a win after last week’s loss.

SEC Wins a Minor Victory in its Case Against Ripple Lab

On Tuesday, Judge Netburn denied a Ripple Lab motion to strike a supplemental report filed by SEC expert Dr. Albert Metz.

Extending the discovery deadline extended to May 13, the SEC can re-depose securities and finance expert Dr. Albert Metz.

The deposition is relevant as the SEC believes that Dr. Metz can relay the economic significance of Ripple’s announcement concerning the performance of the XRP token.

By way of history, Dr. Metz concluded that Ripple Lab was able to influence the price of XRP tokens through news and public announcements. The SEC is now looking to allow Dr. Metz the opportunity to contest Ripple’s rebuttal exports.

Ripple Lab experts Dr. Laurentius Marais and Professor Daniel Fischel concluded that Ripple’s public statements had a “modest” influence on XRP price moves.

The latest ruling provides Ripple Lab an opportunity to file a supplemental report in response to Dr. Metz’s analysis of his supplemental report.

Defense lawyer James Filan shared the court ruling denying the Ripple motion to strike the Metz report.

#XRPCommuunnity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Court denies the Ripple defendants' Motion to Strike the Metz Report, reopens discovery until May 13 to re-depose Dr. Metz. SEC ordered to pay "reasonable expenses" regarding filing the motion and re-deposing Metz.https://t.co/iCZtVylC8z

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪90k+ (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) April 19, 2022

Filan went on to tweet,

“The court criticizes the SEC, finding that “the SEC has conducted itself improperly by serving an unauthorized report on the last day of discovery,” but declines to strike the Metz Supplemental Report.”

XRP Price Action

At the time of writing, XRP was down by 0.04% to $0.7749. The early pullback follows a modest 0.77% gain from Tuesday.

Technical Indicators

XRP will need to avoid the $0.7720 pivot to move through the First Major Resistance Level at $0.7849. XRP would need broader crypto market support the return to $0.78 levels.

In the event of an extended rally, XRP should test the Second Major Resistance Level at $0.7946 and resistance at $0.80. The Third Major Resistance Level sits at $0.8173.

A fall through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level at $0.7622 into play.

Barring an extended sell-off throughout the day, XRP should avoid sub-$0.75. The Second Major Support Level sits at $0.7493.

The EMAs and the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below) send a bullish signal. XRP sits above the 100-day EMA at $0.7690. This morning, the 50-day EMA narrowed to the 100-day EMA. The 100-day EMA held steady against the 200-day EMA, providing support.

A further narrowing of the 50-day EMA on the 100-day EMA would bring $0.78 into play.