XRP News: SEC’s Appeal Move Sends Ripple Back to Sub-$0.50 Territory

Key Insights:

• XRP slipped by 0.14% on Friday, ending the day at $0.5062.
• SEC files motion to certify interlocutory appeal in Ripple case.
• XRP’s future is uncertain pending SEC appeal resolution.

Friday’s Overview

On Friday, XRP declined by 0.14%. Following the 13.87% tumble on Thursday, XRP ended the day at $0.5062. Significantly, XRP revisited sub-$0.50 for the second consecutive session.

SEC Filed a Motion to Certify Interlocutory Appeal

The SEC v Ripple case continued to draw interest on Friday. As per the Court order from Thursday, the SEC filed its motion to certify interlocutory appeal on Friday, August 18.

Defense attorney James Filan shared the filing, which requested for the Court to certify interlocutory appeal for two holdings in the July 13 summary judgment, these being,

• Investors don’t reasonably expect profits from the efforts of others via programmatic offers and sales of XRP over crypto asset trading platforms.
• ‘Ripple’s ‘Other Distributions’ of XRP as a form of payment for services was legally insufficient to constitute an investment of money under SEC v W.J.Howey Co.’

Significantly, the filing justifies the appeal, stating that the interlocutory appeal involves controlling questions of law and substantial grounds for difference of opinion resolvable through an appellate ruling.

The filing also references the SEC v Terraform Labs case, where presiding Judge Rakoff ‘explicitly disagreed with the Order’s ruling on Programmatic Sales.’

While filing the request for the Court to certify interlocutory appeal for two holdings, the SEC acknowledged that digital assets are not inherently securities.

Reaction to the SEC Filing

Amicus Curiae attorney John E Deaton responded to the SEC filing, saying,

“I have to say there is no doubt 75k XRP holders are a major reason the SEC is conceding this issue. We fought to have the judge actually write that the token itself is not the security. In fact, it was the first section in our argument in the Brief.”

Investors must now wait for the Ripple opposition to the SEC motion, which could arrive sooner than September 1. However, the final Court ruling will not come before the SEC responds to any Ripple opposition by September 8.

While Judge Torres swiftly ruled on the SEC motion for leave to file an interlocutory appeal, it may take longer for this ruling.

John Deaton believes that Judge Torres will take the opportunity to “more fully explain her reasoning and to also further make it appeal-proof” and, importantly, address the Judge Rakoff references to her ruling.

Between now and September 8, XRP will be in limbo and sit in the hands of SEC appeal-related chatter. After revisiting Sub-$0.50 in two consecutive sessions, downward price pressure will likely remain until a ruling on the SEC filing.

The Saturday Session

We expect further market reaction to the SEC filing on Friday, with appeal-related chatter likely to impact investor sentiment. However, we don’t expect Court rulings or motions over the weekend.

SEC activity or US lawmaker commentary would need consideration as the SEC battles the US digital asset space. SEC v Binance and SEC v Coinbase-related updates will move the dial.

XRP Price Action

This morning, XRP was up 0.04% to $0.5064. A mixed start to the weekend saw XRP rise to an early high of $0.5079 before falling to a low of $0.5050.

Daily Chart

The Daily Chart showed XRP/USD sitting above the $0.4920 – $0.4780 support band. After the Thursday sell-off, XRP remained below 50-day and 200-day EMAs, sending bearish near and longer-term price signals.

Looking at the 14-Daily RSI, the 24.35 shows XRP in oversold territory. However, RSI aligns with the EMAs supporting a fall through the $0.4920 – $0.4780 support band to target $0.45. However, an XRP breakout from the 200-day EMA would bring $0.55 and the $0.5750 – $0.5900 resistance band into play.

4-Hourly Chart

Looking at the 4-Hourly Chart, XRP sits above the $0.4920 – $0.4780 support band, with sub-$0.45 in view.

After four bearish sessions, XRP sits below the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, reaffirming the bearish near and longer-term price signals.

The 22.76 14-4H RSI shows XRP in oversold territory, with selling pressure outweighing buying pressure. Significantly, the RSI aligns with the EMAs, signaling a fall through the $0.4920 – $0.4780 support band to give the bears a run at $0.45.