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 XRP surging. As expected, this development has revived interest in XRP, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, which in turn led to a noticeable increase in XRP activity in the crypto industry.
Information about the chain reveals a increase in numbers transactions and trading volumes for XRP on major cryptocurrency exchanges. One of the most notable examples of this trend can be seen on the South Korean exchange Upbit, where XRP trading volume has increased dramatically. This increase has been so pronounced that XRP trading volume on Upbit has eclipsed that of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.
The price of If reported by Bitcoinist, the federal judge has ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is significantly lower than the $2 billion initially demanded by the regulator.
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In response, XRP rose 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, especially on the South Korean exchange Upbit. During this period, Upbit’s trading volume reached an astonishing 746 million XRP, valued at over 610 billion KRW within a 24-hour span.
At the height of this trading frenzy, XRP accounted for more than 30% of the total volume on the exchange. After the court ruling, this enormous trading volume was enough to represent 14% of total transactions worldwide. Chad Steingraber, an avid XRP enthusiast, shared this statistic on social media platform
Bithumb, another prominent cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, also witnessed a dramatic increase in XRP trading volume. The altcoin’s trading volume soared past other major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, accounting for 22% of the exchange’s total trading volume.
What’s next for XRP?
The recent ruling means that XRP is now free from the burden of the lawsuit that has hampered price growth for the past four years. However, despite this positive development, the case could continue to cast a shadow on XRP as the SEC decides to appeal the statement. An appeal could prolong the legal proceedings, prolonging the uncertainty that followed price developments.
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At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.6046. The recent price increase means that the cryptocurrency has once again broken out of the descending triangle pattern. According to one recent technical analysisa significant breakout from this pattern could translate into an extended XRP price rise to new all-time highs.
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com