- Ripple, SEC and any third parties are expected to file letters to seal proceedings and supporting evidence by Monday.
- Ripple CEO voiced concerns over the SEC’s treatment of the largest stablecoin, USD Tether.
- XRP declined below $0.50 support, down 1.38% on Monday.
XRP trades at $0.4940, losing more than 1% at the time of writing, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple are set to file the so-called “Omnibus letter motions” on Monday, which will seal materials and supporting evidence related to the remedies-related court phase. The filing of this motion is one of the last steps before the judge rules on whether Ripple needs to pay a penalty for its institutional sales of XRP and, if so, which amount should it pay.
Meanwhile, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized the SEC on the US financial regulator’s approach towards USD Tether (USDT) on a podcast.
Daily Digest Market Movers: SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit draws closer to end
- The SEC alleges that payment remittance firm Ripple sold unregistered securities (XRP tokens) to institutional investors. The regulator has asked for $2 billion in penalties. Ripple responded with a counter of $10 million and proposed another round of litigation.
- XRP holders are waiting on two important updates in the lawsuit: the court’s ruling on fines imposed on Ripple and whether the SEC chooses to appeal the ruling in the Second Circuit.
- SEC, Ripple and other involved parties – meaning friends of the court or amicus curiae –, are expected to file Omnibus letter motions on Monday. These motions seal recent court filings and supporting evidence in the remedies phase of the lawsuit.
SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit important dates
- The next key date is May 20, the deadline for parties and third parties to file letter-briefs opposing the Omnibus letter motions.
- The court is expected to rule on the penalty to be imposed on Ripple for the alleged sale of securities to institutional investors in late May.
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse shared his thoughts on the largest stablecoin USD Tether in a recent podcast on YouTube. Garlinghouse slammed the SEC for their approach on USDT.
- Garlinghouse’s take on the SEC’s approach towards stablecoins is key to Ripple’s narrative since the payment remittance firm is launching its stablecoin later this year.
Technical analysis: XRP slips below key support at $0.50
Ripple price is declining, with negative momentum in the altcoin’s trend on the weekly, daily and 4-hour time frame. XRP slipped below key support at $0.50 on Sunday and extends its downward movement to a low of $0.4866 on Monday, a level previously visited on May 1.
If the decline continues, Ripple could sweep support at $0.4665, the low from April 19 and an important support level for XRP/USDT on the weekly time frame. The red histogram bars below the neutral line on the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator imply there is negative momentum in XRP price trend.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads 37.46. This level was last seen on April 19, when the price dipped to a low of $0.4665. XRP remains well above the oversold zone at 30, leaving more room for the downside before being oversold.
XRP/USDT 1-day chart
If Ripple price closes above the May 12 high of $0.5088, it could invalidate the bearish thesis and XRP could climb towards resistance at $0.5310. This level marks the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the decline between April 9 top of $0.6431 and April 13 bottom of $0.4188.
Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins FAQs
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.
Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.
Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin’s market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.
