XRP News Today: XRP Surges 15% Amid Legal Battles as BTC Holds $90k

SEC Faces a Barrage of Lawsuits as Cryptos Gain Voice on Capitol Hill

On Thursday, November 14, 18 US states filed lawsuits against the SEC and the agency’s commissioners. Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett reported the filings, stating,

“US states have filed to sue the SEC and its commissioners, accusing them of unconstitutional overreach and unfair persecution of the crypto industry under the leadership of agency chief Gary Gensler.”

18 Republican Attorneys General reportedly signed the lawsuit, accusing the SEC of ‘gross government overreach’ in its enforcement-driven approach to regulating the $3 trillion industry.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers posted the lawsuit on X (formerly Twitter), saying,

“The SEC overstepped its authorization from Congress and is attempting to classify cryptocurrencies as investment contracts – like stocks or bonds – that are subject to the SEC’s regulation. “

The legal challenge signals a seismic shift sentiment toward the US digital asset space, following Trump’s election victory.

SEC Appeal in Ripple Case Under Spotlight

The latest filing against the SEC could influence the SEC’s pending appeal in the Ripple case. Most significantly, the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling could set a precedent if the SEC withdraws its appeal, a potential landmark moment for the US crypto market.

On July 13, 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that programmatic sales of XRP did not satisfy the third prong of the Howey Test. XRP surged to a 2023 high of $0.9327 in response to the ruling before dropping below $0.50 on the threat of an SEC appeal.

On Friday, XRP neared the July 2023 high, climbing to $0.9283 before easing back, highlighting sentiment toward the SEC’s next moves in its case against Ripple. Thursday’s filing against the SEC coincided with speculation about SEC Chair Gensler’s possible resignation. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to fire Gensler on day one in office.

XRP Price Action

On Friday, November 15, XRP surged 15.21%, following a 12.07% breakout from Thursday, closing at $0.8923. XRP outperformed the broader crypto market, which gained 3.93%, taking the market cap to $2.956 trillion.

Speculation about a potential end to the SEC’s challenge against rulings in the Ripple case could push XRP to $1. The shift in sentiment toward crypto and Trump’s victory remain significant tailwinds for XRP and the broader crypto market as Republican lawmakers target the SEC.

US BTC-Spot ETFs Market Sees Outflows Amid Fed Rate Uncertainty

Turning to BTC, the US BTC-spot ETF market continued to react to sentiment toward the Fed rate path.

On Thursday, the US BTC-spot ETF market reported net outflows of $400.7 million, ending a six-day inflow streak. Outflows continued on Friday as markets lowered their bets on a December Fed rate cut. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the chances of a December Fed rate cut fell from 72.2 on November 14 to 61.9% on November 15.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments, calling for caution on further policy moves until greater economic clarity, contributed to the shift in sentiment. This week, US producer prices rose above forecasts, reinforcing a sticky inflation outlook, while retail sales surprised to the upside.

According to Farside Investors:

• Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) reported net outflows of $175.1 million on Wednesday. (Previous day: -$179.2 million).
• ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) saw net outflows of $108.6 million. (Previous day: -$161.7 million).
• Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) had net outflows of $7.4 million. (Previous day: -$113.9 million).

Excluding flow data for iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the US BTC-spot ETF market had $370 million of net outflows, with seven issuers seeing net outflows.

Despite two consecutive days of outflows, the US BTC-spot ETF market is on target for a sixth week of net inflows. Overall weekly flow trends bolstered BTC demand.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Action

Despite the outflows, BTC trended higher on Friday. Trump’s crypto pledges could mitigate oversupply risk, a BTC tailwind. On Friday, November 15, BTC rallied 3.90%, reversing a 3.13% loss from the Thursday session to close at $90,727. Significantly, BTC held onto the $90,000 handle for the second time in three sessions, paving the way to $100,000.

Stay tuned for the latest on how market shifts and regulatory developments impact crypto assets.