XRP News: Ripple Gains Amid SEC Lawsuit Suspense; Hinman’s Role Under Spotlight

Key Insights:

• XRP saw a 1.27% rise on Tuesday, reaching a close at $0.4801 after a previous slide.
• Investors await a significant ruling from Judge Torres on the SEC’s appeal regarding the Programmatic Sales ruling.
• Court decisions for Ripple and Coinbase may redefine the SEC’s crypto stance, bar BTC.

Tuesday’s Overview of XRP

On Tuesday, XRP gained 1.27%. Partially reversing a 4.65% slide from Monday, XRP ended the day at $0.4801.

Dip Buyers Return as Investors Await Judge Torres’s Ruling on the SEC Appeal

There was no SEC v Ripple case-related activity to provide XRP with direction on Tuesday. The lack of case-related activity left investors to weigh the prospects of Judge Torres approving the SEC motion for interlocutory appeal.

Increasing scrutiny of the SEC, SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and the regulation by enforcement mantra likely raises hope of more Court rulings favoring defendants. However, uncertainty toward the Judge Torres ruling continued to limit gains.

While there was no case-related activity to consider, Bill Hinman was back in the news.

Bill Hinman Promotion Draws the Ire of Ripple General Council

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty responded to a post, announcing the promotion of former SEC Director Bill Hinman, saying,

“Wait, is it April Fool’s Day? Shouldn’t this read “While a public servant at the SEC, he collected $15 million from his old firm, ignored the law, and created even ‘greater confusion’ for the crypto industry…”

Alderoty was reacting to the news of 16z promoting Bill Hinman to advisory partner.

Bill Hinman, former Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance, remains a central figure in the ongoing SEC v Ripple case. During a famous 2018 speech, Hinman said BTC and ETH were not securities.

There have been increasing calls for an investigation into Hinman over conflicts of interest. While Judge Torres did not consider the Hinman speech-related docs in her Programmatic Sales ruling, an investigation could give US lawmakers more reason to limit SEC oversight of the US digital asset space.

SEC v Coinbase Hangs in the Balance

As investors await a Court ruling on the SEC motion for interlocutory appeal, a ruling on the Coinbase (COIN) motion to dismiss (MTD) will be another pivotal ruling for the US crypto market.

Presiding Judge Failla could rule on the MTD at any time. Coinbase filed the MTD in early August and has the support of US Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, among others.

Court rulings supporting Coinbase and Ripple could challenge the SEC’s stance that all cryptos, except BTC, are securities. A positive result would deter the SEC from pursuing exchanges for unregistered operations and sales.

XRP Price Action

Daily Chart

XRP remained below the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, sending bearish price signals. However, favorable updates from the ongoing Coinbase and Ripple cases would support a breakout session. An XRP break above the $0.5042 resistance level would give the bulls a run at the 200-day EMA and the trend line.

However, there will be intense selling pressure at $0.5220, with the 200-day EMA confluent with the trend line.

A lack of case-related updates will leave uncertainty to test buyer appetite. An XRP move through $0.45 would give the bears a run at the $0.4322 support level.

The 30.78 14-Daily RSI reading shows XRP on the border of oversold territory. However, adverse rulings from the Coinbase and Ripple cases would send XRP deep into oversold territory.

4-Hourly Chart

XRP hovers below the 50-day and 200-day EMA, reaffirming the bearish price signals. Despite the Tuesday gain, XRP fell short of $0.50. A break above the 50-day EMA would give XRP a run at the $0.5042 resistance level.

However, failure to break above the 50-day EMA would leave sub-$0.45 and the $0.4322 support level in play.

The 14-4H RSI 40.45 reading gives XRP room to slide before entering oversold territory.