XRP News Today: Did the SEC Miss Ripple Appeal Deadline? BTC-Spot ETF Inflows Surge

Did the SEC Miss the Appeal Deadline?

On Thursday, October 17, the crypto community speculated whether the SEC missed the deadline for filing its Form C, the second step in the appeals process.

Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett recently shared Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty’s views on the appellate timelines. The first significant date in the appellate timeline was October 16, when the SEC had to submit Form C.

However, there was no SEC filing on October 16, fueling speculation that the SEC had missed the deadline. The news briefly drove XRP to an October 17 high of $0.5669. Terrett dampened the excitement, stating,

“Heard back from the SEC this morning. According to a spokesperson, the appeal is proceeding normally, and the document will be filed publicly soon.”

The SEC’s delay didn’t go unnoticed. Coinbase (COIN) Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal remarked,

“Maybe they think Ripple and the Second Circuit should wait three years for their explanation, too.”

Pro-crypto lawyer Fred Rispoli dismissed the late filing as an issue, stating,

“I wouldn’t get too excited about an untimely Form C filing. [,,,]. Sorry to say, appellate courts give A LOT of leeway to federal agencies. Even a lame excuse from the government is likely enough to allow the Court to let it slide.”

SEC Form C Reveals Appeal Against Programmatic Sales Ruling

Despite the missed deadline rumors, pro-crypto lawyer James ‘MetaLawMan’ Murphy shared the SEC’s Form C filing, saying,

“This is weird. The SEC’s Form C is dated October 16. The court’s stamp on the document is October 17. We should find out soon whether the Second Circuit concludes that the SEC has missed the deadline.”

As with the recently released US Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit’s docket, the SEC is challenging the Summary Judgment relating to the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling, and the Final Judgment.

The Addendum B to Form C stated,

“Whether the district court erroneously granted partial summary judgment in favor of defendants with respect to Ripple’s offer and sales of XRP on digital asset trading platforms (and Garlinghouse’s and Larsen’s aiding and abetting of those offers and sales), Garlinghouse’s and Larsen’s personal offers and sales of XRP, and Ripple’s distributions of XRP in exchange for consideration other than cash. These are the issues to be reviewed de novo.”

However, the SEC did not challenge the disgorgement ruling. The Final Judgment ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in civil penalties. Judge Analisa Torres rejected the SEC’s request for a $1.1 billion disgorgement.

The crypto community now awaits the court’s decision on whether to accept the SEC’s Form C or reject the appeal.

XRP Price Action

On Wednesday, October 16, XRP fell by 0.66%, partially reversing a 1.07% gain from the previous session, closing at $0.5441. Significantly, XRP broke out from $0.55 for the first time since investors reacted to the SEC’s Notice of Appeal on October 2.

XRP underperformed the broader crypto market, which declined by 0.51%, taking the total market cap to $2.259 trillion.

Uncertainty about the outcome of an SEC appeal left XRP trailing the market.

Currently sitting around $0.5450, XRP remains near the higher boundary of the post-Notice of Appeal range. Positive sentiment across the broader market could offer strong support at $0.50. However, XRP could target the July 2023 high of $0.9327 if the US courts clarify that the SEC missed its October 16 deadline and dismisses the SEC’s appeal.

Bitcoin: US Economic Indicators Dampen Fed Rate Cut Expectations

While SEC vs. Ripple case-related news takes center stage, the US economic calendar continued influencing BTC demand.

US retail sales increased by 0.4% in September after rising by 0.1% in August. Additionally, initial jobless claims fell from 260k (week ending October 5) to 241k (week ending October 12).

Tighter labor market conditions could support wage growth, fueling consumer spending and demand-driven inflation. Thursday’s US data could allow the Fed to take less aggressive policy measures to return inflation to target and deliver a soft landing.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the chances of a 25-basis point November Fed rate cut fell from 93.7% to 87.7% between October 16 and October 17.

Falling expectations of November and December Fed rate cuts could drive BTC demand.

US BTC-Spot ETF Market Eyes Five-Day Winning Streak

On October 16, the US BTC-spot ETF market saw net inflows of $458.5 million. The momentum continued into Thursday, October 17. According to Farside Investors:

• Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) had net inflows of $11.7 million. (Previous day: +$35.0 million).
• ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) saw net inflows of $100.2 million. (Previous day: +$14.7 million).
• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reported net inflows of $45.7 million. (Previous day: zero).

Excluding the iShares Bitcoin Fund (IBIT) and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), the US BTC-spot ETF market saw total net inflows of $161.5 million, extending its net inflow streak to five sessions.

Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas commented on the current inflow streak, stating,

”Bitcoin ETFs have crossed $20b in total net flows (the most imp number, most difficult metric to grow in ETF world) for first time after huge week of $1.5b. For context, it took gold ETFs about 5yrs to reach same number. Total assets now $65b, also a high water mark.”

Excluding Thursday’s flows, IBIT has registered total net inflows of $761.7 million this week. The US BTC-spot ETF market flow data countered the effects of the US economic indicators, limiting BTC’s Thursday loss.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Action

On Thursday, BTC slipped by 0.32%, partially reversing a 1.53% gain from the previous session, closing at $67,303. Despite holding into the $67,000 handle for the second time since July 28, BTC ended a three-day winning streak.

US BTC-spot ETF market flow trends will continue to drive BTC demand. A six-day winning streak could signal a break above Thursday’s high of $68,387 to retarget $70,000. BTC supply and demand trends remain crucial in the near term.