Why is the Ripple (XRP) Price Up Today?

TL;DR

• XRP hit a three-year high, possibly driven by multiple bullish factors.
• One of those include a potential resolution of the Ripple v. SEC case as Gary Gensler prepares to step down.

XRP on the Run

Ripple’s XRP is the best-performing top 20 cryptocurrency today (November 29). Its price jumped to almost $1.63, a level last observed in the spring of 2021. Currently, it trades at around $1.61 (per CoinGecko’s data), representing a 10% daily increase and a staggering 200% pump in the past month.

One factor potentially contributing to its rally is the recent development surrounding Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD. Earlier this week, X user Vet claimed that almost all tokens have been burned, sparking rumors that the product’s launch is incoming. However, Monica Long (Ripple’s president) recently said that RLUSD will see the light of day once it receives regulatory approval from the NYDFS.

Another element could be the increased speculation that the legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might be drawing to an end. Several days ago, the regulator’s Chairman, Gary Gensler, announced he will step down in January next year. He is known for his anti-crypto stance, and unsurprisingly, the XRP army cheered the news of his upcoming departure.

The community now expects a pro-crypto leader and a favorable outcome to the lawsuit that has been ongoing for almost four years. 

Several experts believe Ripple might indeed benefit from the shift. The American attorney Jeremy Hogan forecasted that the agency could drop all non-fraud crypto lawsuits filed over the years. He thinks the Ripple case could be settled for the previously ruled amount of $125 million. 

“It would be…awkward to settle for less than what was already awarded by a Court! The Coinbase and other cases in litigation will simply be dismissed. This will take some time. Not January, but perhaps before summer. That’s my call, and I’m sticking to it,” Hogan said.

Chris Giancarlo (former Chairman of the CFTC) also envisioned a similar scenario. Earlier this week, he assumed the SEC might dismiss the lawsuit against Ripple under Donald Trump’s administration.

Bonus: The Potential ETF

One additional factor which might have played a positive effect on XRP’s price is the latest move from Bitwise Asset Management. The entity submitted a proposal to the SEC for a new ETF that would include ten cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink (LINK), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Polkadot (DOT), and Uniswap (UNI).

It is important to note that each asset in the crypto index ETF is allocated a specific share. BTC takes the lion’s share with 75.1%, while XRP accounts for 1.5%. 

The launch of such products has previously resulted in a price rally for the underlying cryptocurrencies. It will be interesting to see if the regulator will approve the development and if it will affect the market.