The price of XRP surged by almost 20% early this week upon a rumor that claimed that the SEC and Ripple would be having a settlement for the lawsuit on November 15. However, several people with knowledge of the matter, including Brad Garlinghous, Founder of Ripple, came out to dismiss the rumor to be false.
Interestingly, the price of XRP did not pull back even after the rumor had been squashed. Why is that so? Read on to find out.
XRP Price Surges On Lawsuit Settlement Rumors
Early on Monday, November 14, even as the crypto market was still reeling from the fallout of the FTX bankruptcy, the price of XRP rose unexpectedly by almost 20% as the crypto space was rile with a rumor that Ripple would go into a meeting with the SEC on Tuesday, November 15, with a view to a settlement of the long drawn lawsuit that has capped the price of XRP over the last two years.
The rumor started to take root on Monday after “Hard Money” TV show host Natalie Brunell of Fox Business claimed that the SEC and Ripple were planning to settle the lawsuit the following day. However, another Fox Business journalist, Eleanor Terre, subsequently checked with a Ripple spokesperson who debunked the story as false, and clarified the situation a couple of hours later.
The rumor could have originated from a misunderstanding from a statement made by a pro-Ripple lawyer, Jeremy Hogan, who had been covering the lawsuit. Even though the news outlet had clarified the rumor, XRP and Ripple had already been trending on social media, driving the price of XRP higher by almost 20% when the rest of the crypto market was falling.
Even after the false rumor clarification had time to make its rounds in the market and having passed Tuesday where there is no news of settlement however, the price of XRP has not retreated, but is instead, still managing to remain at its elevated level. This is a very impressive showing of XRP’s strength in the midst of the crypto market’s bloodletting.
The nagging question on many traders’ minds now is, why isn’t the price of XRP retreating?
More Good Developments for Ripple Lawsuit
Ripple recently has had more good going for them in the lawsuit, strengthening their case against the SEC. Even when the settlement rumor had been squashed, there is another positive development pertaining to the lawsuit that is keeping sentiments high.
After more than two months after the first request to file an amicus curiae brief was submitted to the court, presiding Judge Analisa Torres has finally granted many such requests, allowing business partners of Ripple to finally get a chance to show their support for Ripple. In total, 16 companies have been granted to file their amicus curiae in defence of Ripple.
An amicus curiae brief is a written submission to a court which is literally translated as, a “friend of the court” - a person or organization who is not a party to the proceedings, to set out legal arguments and recommendations in a given case. As such, the overwhelming number of companies speaking up for Ripple would have a strong impact on the final outcome of the lawsuit.
Crypto powerhouse Coinbase, has already filed their amicus curiae brief on 31 October, way earlier than the deadline of November 18 that had been set by the court. However, Coinbase was not the first to have shown Ripple such favour. The Chamber of Digital Commerce was the first group to rally in favor of Ripple.
Some other firms that will be sending in their briefs include, Blockchain Association, TapJets, I-Remit, I-CAN, Spend-the-Bits, Deaton, CCI, Valhalla Capital, Cryptillian Payment Systems, VeriDAO, Reaper Financial, Accredify (DBA InvestReady), New Sports Economy Institute, and Paradigm Operations.
Hence, with the deadline of November 18 only days away, traders could be anticipating that details in the amicus curiae briefs that could benefit Ripple would emerge in the coming days. In the event that such revelations really materialised, the price of XRP could continue to surge. This could be why the token has been in a holding pattern instead of retreating when the settlement rumors were rebutted.
XRP Trading Volume Surged 50% During Rumor
While the settlement rumor has died down, one interesting observation that could be made when the rumor was in play was that not only the price, but the trading volume of XRP also surged. While the price only rose 20%, the daily trading volume of XRP surged by 50%, even at a time when people were cashing out their cryptos and removing coins from exchanges during a crypto market crisis. This only goes to show the strong pent up demand for XRP should the lawsuit really be coming into a settlement. While we have no idea as to when a settlement or the final showdown would actually occur, any brownie points gained by XRP hereon in the lawsuit may result in regular quick upswings in the price of XRP.
The above are the personal opinion of the author and should not be deemed as the official view of Margex. They are also not financial advice and readers should assess their own financial situation before engaging in any investment or trading as these activities carry risks. Readers are also strongly advised to do their own research and conduct their own due diligence, and to refer to their personal financial advisor when they are in doubt.
