9 August 2024
The long-standing legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally made significant progress in court, and the case may be nearing its end, with a surge for XRP. As expected, this development revitalized interest in XRP, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, which in turn led to a noticeable surge in XRP’s activity across the crypto industry.
On-chain data reveals a surge in the number of transactions and trading volumes for XRP on major cryptocurrency exchanges. One of the most noteworthy instances of this trend can be seen on the South Korean exchange, Upbit, where XRP trading volume has surged dramatically. This surge has been so pronounced that XRP’s trading volume on Upbit has eclipsed that of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
The price of XRP experienced a rapid surge in the immediate aftermath of a pivotal court ruling by Judge Analisa Torres, a decision that Ripple executives and the community interpreted as a positive outcome for the payments technology company. As reported by Bitcoinist, the federal judge ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in civil penalties to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is significantly lower than the $2 billion initially sought by the regulator.
In reaction, XRP surged from $0.50 to $0.6368 in less than two hours, according to data from Coinmarketcap. This sharp increase in value was accompanied by an extraordinary spike in trading activity, particularly on the South Korean-based exchange Upbit. During this period, Upbit’s trading volume reached an astounding 746 million XRP, valued at over 610 billion KRW within a 24-hour time frame.
At the height of this trading frenzy, XRP accounted for more than 30% of the total volume on the exchange. This huge trading volume was enough to account for 14% of the total transactions worldwide after the court ruling. Chad Steingraber, a fervent XRP enthusiast, shared this statistic on social media platform X.
Bithumb, another prominent cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, also witnessed a dramatic increase in XRP trading volume. The altcoin’s trading volume surged past other major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, accounting for 22% of the total trading volume on the exchange.
What’s Next For XRP?
The recent ruling means XRP is now free from the burden of the lawsuit that has hampered its price growth for the past four years. However, despite this positive development, the case could continue to cast a shadow over XRP if the SEC decides to appeal the ruling. An appeal could extend the legal proceedings, thereby prolonging the uncertainty that has followed its price performance.
At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.6046. The recent price surge means the cryptocurrency has broken out of a descending triangle pattern again. According to a recent technical analysis, a significant breakout from this pattern could translate into an extended XRP price surge into new all-time highs.