The population of whales using the $XRP Ledger has recently increased. This coincides with significant cryptocurrency purchases by big investors who are likely anticipating a positive resolution in the legal dispute between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Based on information initially shared by prominent cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez and provided by on-chain analytics company Santiment, the XRP Ledger has 50 newly created whale addresses, which range from around 10 to 100 million XRP. This is equivalent to a value of $3.8 to $38 million at the current time.
Over the past month, ~50 whales holding 10 million to 100 million $XRP have joined the #Ripple network.
— Ali (@ali_charts) March 19, 2023
These large investors have purchased around 420 million #XRP, worth $155.4 million, shows data from @santimentfeed. pic.twitter.com/6L3gBwbdiW
The analyst further stated that big investors in the cryptocurrency had acquired an additional 420 million tokens valued at $155 million within the past month. This accumulation pattern indicates that the whales are preparing for a significant price shift.
Despite record outflows in cryptocurrency investment products, institutional investors have increased their wagers on investment products that provide exposure to XRP and Solana ($SOL), as reported by CryptoGlobe earlier this month.
During a week in which cryptocurrency products experienced a record-setting $255 million net outflows, investment products providing exposure to Solana received $400K in inflows. In contrast, those offering exposure to XRP received $300K. Additionally, there were inflows of $100K into Polygon (MATIC) investment products.
XRP has been displaying positive performance since Ripple's Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty expressed his confidence in Ripple's chances of success following the latest ruling in the lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple.
Judge Analisa Torres recently issued a 57-page ruling on the SEC and Ripple's requests to eliminate expert testimony from the summary judgment. This ruling provided support for Alderoty's confidence in Ripple's success.
The result of the lawsuit is expected to have a notable influence on both the price of XRP and the crypto industry in general. This is because the SEC has accused Ripple of vending XRP as an unregistered security.
Ripple's legal representatives have contended that XRP's properties, such as its liquidity, utility, and distribution, render it incompatible with securities regulations. They further argue that categorizing XRP as a security would directly undermine its purpose for existence.
Another Favorable Argument Towards Ripple
In a letter to Judge Torres, Ripple's legal team pointed out that their fair notice defense was bolstered by a recent decision made by Judge Wiles, a fellow judge from the same circuit. This decision was issued on March 11, 2023.
The SEC opposed the proposed acquisition of Voyager by Binance.US, alleging that the Voyager token (VGX) possessed features of a security, although it did not specify what those features were. The SEC also contended that Binance.US was an unregistered securities exchange but did not clarify why it held that opinion.
Judge Wiles dismissed the SEC's objections and gave the green light to the bankruptcy plan. His decision aligns with several of Ripple's contentions, as stated in the Letter of Supplemental Authority. The ruling states that the SEC's objections were imprecise and that the agency failed to substantiate what the debtors were required to establish to demonstrate that VGX was not a security.
Furthermore, Ripple contends to Judge Torres that, as per Judge Wiles, the SEC typically provided market participants with only "restricted guidance." Judge Wiles concurs with Ripple's claims that cryptocurrency market players function in a regulatory landscape that is, at best, exceedingly uncertain.
Decision By The End Of April At The Latest?
According to XRP community attorney John E. Deaton, in a recent interview, he anticipates that Judge Torres will release a verdict in Ripple vs. the SEC by the conclusion of April. The lawyer's prediction is grounded in Torres' track record, as he explained.
In a recent interview, XRP community lawyer John E. Deaton said that he believes Judge Torres will issue a decision on Ripple vs. the SEC by the end of April. Deaton based his assumption on Torres' track record in similar cases, where she made summary judgment rulings concurrently with Daubert motions. However, there were also cases where she made the Daubert ruling first, followed by a decision on summary judgment either two weeks later or 60 days later.
According to XRP community attorney John E. Deaton, he would be surprised if Judge Torres does not issue a ruling on Ripple vs. the SEC within the next 30 days. Deaton states that if late April arrives and there is still no decision, it would be inconsistent with how Judge Torres has handled cases in the past.
XRP Price So Far
XRP, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, has experienced a turbulent price history. Initially launched in 2012, XRP traded at a low price of less than $0.01 for several years.
But things took a turn in 2017, when the price of XRP surged dramatically, reaching an ATH (all-time high) of over $3.00 in January 2018. However, the price quickly dropped and remained relatively stable around the $0.20 to $0.30 price mark for several years.
Fast forward to late 2020 and early 2021, XRP saw another price surge, reaching over $1.00 in April 2021. However, the price sharply declined after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, alleging that the company had sold XRP as an unregistered security. But this wasn’t the end of XRP.
According to CoinMarketCap, XRP already had a huge market cap of $17.29 billion by December of last year, which made it the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in the world at the time. Currently, the XRP price remains in a sideways trend which commenced in November 2022, with the price at around $0.3808.
