Key Insights:
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XRP is on the move, with recovery from sub-$0.70 levels supporting a near-term return to $0.80.
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Updates from the ongoing SEC v XRP case have delivered support this week.
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Key technical indicators remain bearish, however. XRP continues to sit below the 50-day EMA.
It’s been a bullish week for XRP, with Ripple v SEC news updates providing XRP price support.
XRP had been under pressure since late March. The bearish sentiment from the broader crypto market had pulled XRP back to sub-$0.70 levels.
Uncertainty over the likely outcome of the SEC v Ripple case, coupled with bearish sentiment across the broader crypto market, weighed on XRP.
Hopes of a favorable outcome to the case may have returned, delivering much-needed XRP price support.
SEC Loses Motion to Shield William Hinman Speech Related Documents
This week, judge Sarah Netburn denied an SEC motion for the courts to reconsider a ruling relating to a famous 2018 Hinman speech. Hinman said that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are not securities.
Defense lawyer James Filan took to Twitter on Tuesday, highlighting the big win for Ripple.
Filan tweeted,
“The SEC seeks to have it both ways, but the speech was either intended to reflect agency policy or it was not. Having insisted that it reflected Hinman’s personal views, the SEC cannot now reject its own position.”
This week’s ruling followed some upbeat news updates from the case that had failed to support an XRP breakout.
Former SEC official William Hinman appears to be a central figure in Ripple’s defense and a concern for the SEC.
Last weekend, Empower Oversight successfully forced the SEC to release emails related to the Ripple lawsuit.
The emails insinuate that William Hinman continued to hold meetings with Simpson Thacher. These meetings took place despite warnings from the SEC ethics team.
In December, Empower Oversight filed a lawsuit against the SEC, claiming that former SEC officials were biased against Ripple Lab and XRP. Empower Oversight alleged that the former received millions of dollars from his former employer while helping guide the SEC’s regulation of cryptocurrencies.
His former employer, Simpson Thacher, is part of a group that promotes Enterprise Ethereum. The lawsuit claims that Hinman said that Ethereum wasn’t a security, causing an ETH price spike that preceded the Ripple Lab lawsuit, which led to the slide in the value of XRP.