Ripple (XRP) could not keep its momentum and turned bearish after reaching an intraday low of $0.4936 on Saturday. Now XRP has bounced back, trading near the $0.513 mark but continues to be under bearish sentiment. This decline is attributed to:
Concerns about Tether in the market: Pulled down the confidence in the whole crypto ecosystem with the help of ongoing investigations into its operations.
SEC’s ongoing litigation: Investor concerns are compounded by the unresolved litigation between Ripple and the SEC as well as the SEC’s dragging appeal against Ripple.
Upsurge in geopolitical risks: Moreover, the rising tensions, especially between Israel and Iran, have made investors seek sanctuary assets thereby putting additional stress on the crypto universe.
Ripple’s short-term forecast remains pessimistic as negative market sentiment continues to hamper its performance.
Rising Middle East tensions hurt XRP and the crypto space
The situation in the Middle East has grown out of control as Israel has recently launched airstrikes on Iran following a wave of Iranian attacks.
Even though the situation has escalated, Iranian officials downplayed its impact saying that there was minimal damage and that there has been no interruption to day to day life in Tehran.
The geopolitical developments of this nature are influencing the crypto market including, XRP. Most of the time, investors tend to move their assets around during such conflicts and thus cut down on the demand for cryptocurrencies.
And Ripple's still unresolved lawsuit with the SEC just makes it worse and adds to the general risk-averse mood of the market.
These geopolitical and regulatory factors put together create an unfavorable situation for XRP and for other cryptocurrencies as well resulting in relatively thin trading and hence greater volatility.
Ripple vs SEC: How the Legal Rift is Fuelling XRP’s Status and Trading Activities
Notice, the legal tussle involving Ripple and the US SEC over the crypto XRP increases in accusatory intensity, with the SEC now establishing that it wishes to appeal the court decision until 15 January, 2025.
This comes after a court upheld that Ripple and its executives acted legally in promoting some parts of XRP and did not break any laws regarding the sale and purchase of securities.
But the SEC is expected to appeal this decision which attempts to focus on these specific sales of XRP tokens which were identified as securities and would likely have consequences on the whole cryptocurrency industry.
However, some of them believe that the SEC’s appeal is a strategy to delay progression while for legal experts the period fits to what is appropriate in such scenarios.
A Ripple victory may set the stage for the much-needed regulatory clarity in the crypto space which may at least alleviate some of the prickly concerns that such companies encounter. The quest for XRP ETFs backed by Ripple is also indicative of the fact that there is a large amount of interest from asset managers.
This case in many ways goes beyond Ripple and seeks to set the tone for regulations that will touch on many other cryptocurrencies which investors would be wise to watch for any news.
XRP Sits Near Critical Support Level Adverse Market Pressure
Ripple’s XRP continues to wallow in underperformance in the cryptocurrency trading market as its prices try to reclaim the June bottom charted weeks ago. The pivot point is located at $0.507 reinforcing XRP’s current stance of about $0.514.
Strong resistance has built around the $0.525 mark and another resistance extends to about $0.534. The bearish trend line above points to excessive supply however, a break of $0.525 would point to a reversal in momentum.
XRP has been and still is ranges between 50% and maybe mid 40% zones according to the RSI which suggests a mild oversold while the overhanging resistance is also effective with the 50 EMA residing close to $0.526.
Immediate Support: $0.507 acts as psychological support.
Resistance Levels: Resistance has been identified at $0.525 and the next major level sits at $0.534.
Market Sentiment: The trading environment appears to be restrained with the present RSI and the trendline resistance showing, and in the absence of key resistance levels, for a move up range.
