The Sunday Summary
On the last Sunday, XRP experienced a 2.41% gain, building on a 0.92% increase from Saturday to close at $0.6325.
SEC vs. Ripple Spotlight
The SEC versus Ripple litigation gains renewed focus this week. On Tuesday, March 26, the SEC plans to unveil a redacted brief concerning remedy proposals, with market spectators expecting a strong push for punitive measures against Ripple for issuing unregistered securities to institutional players.
A pivotal July 2023 decision by Judge Torres identified Ripple’s violation of the 1933 Securities Act’s Section 5 through its unregistered XRP sales to institutional investors.
Amidst rising scrutiny, this brief comes as the Office of Inspector General (OIG) nears the end of its probe into potential crypto-related conflicts of interest within the SEC, potentially influencing the SEC’s appeal strategies following a July ruling that deemed XRP’s programmatic sales non-violative of the Howey Test’s third criterion.
Central to this controversy is former SEC director William Hinman, scrutinized for potential financial conflicts after receiving payments from his previous employer, Simpson Thacher, while overseeing crypto regulations at the SEC.
Hinman’s post-SEC affiliation with Simpson Thacher and his 2018 assertion that Bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities add complexity to the probe, especially given Simpson Thacher’s involvement with the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
Empower Oversight will delve deeper into the SEC vs. Ripple saga in a Tuesday livecast, featuring discussions on the IG Report and SEC legal actions by its founder Jason Foster and president Tristan Leavitt on CryptoLaw.
Empower Oversight Confronts the SEC
Empower Oversight, on March 18, legally challenged the SEC for additional documents regarding crypto-related conflicts of interest, accusing the SEC of delaying its FOIA request responses and thus hindering the investigation into SEC officials’ ethical breaches concerning cryptocurrencies.
This action follows a March 14 appeal for records on possible ethical misconduct, expanding the investigation to encompass former SEC Chair Jay Clayton’s post-commission activities with cryptocurrency-focused firms.
XRP Market Dynamics
XRP’s price action indicates a bullish trend, as highlighted in the weekly and daily charts with XRP above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs.
Surpassing the $0.6609 resistance might set the stage for reaching and potentially exceeding the $0.70 mark, underlined by SEC news and the Ripple case’s implications on market sentiment.
On the downside, slipping below the 50-day EMA could challenge the $0.5740 support, with a possible intensification in buying pressure at this level. The 14-day RSI points towards a potential move to $0.70 without hitting the overbought zone, reinforcing the bullish signals.
The 4-hourly analysis further supports a bullish outlook, suggesting an upward trajectory past the $0.6609 barrier before the market reaches overbought conditions, affirming the positive momentum for XRP.
