Ripple is consolidating after a significant drop to the $0.5 support, following increased selling activity at the $0.66 resistance.

However, after falling below the 100 and 200-day moving averages, the price is in a low-volatility phase, suggesting a potential pullback to these MAs.

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

Ripple recently experienced a significant decline, reaching the critical $0.5 support region after facing heavy selling pressure at $0.66. This led to a sharp drop below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling highlighting the solid momentum.

However, upon touching the $0.5 threshold, the decline slowed, and the price entered a slight sideways consolidation, suggesting that the selling pressure had weakened temporarily.

Despite the consolidation, the XRP price action reflects low market activity and minimal volatility, implying a possible pullback toward the previously broken MAs.

If Ripple retraces toward these levels and faces rejection, it would likely continue the downtrend, with the next long-term target around the $0.43 support. On the other hand, a breakout above these MAs could trigger a short squeeze, resulting in a significant price rally as traders covering short positions drive the price higher.

The 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart further highlights the recent surge in selling pressure that pushed Ripple’s price toward a decisive support zone defined by the 0.5 ($0.52) and 0.618 ($0.49) Fibonacci retracement levels.

These levels have held up as key support for the past few months, and upon reaching this region, the cryptocurrency entered a slight bullish retracement phase, though the volatility remained relatively low.

Ripple is trading within a tight range between the $0.52 support (0.5 Fibonacci level) and the $0.55 resistance. A breakout from this range will likely determine Ripple’s next short-term move. If Ripple fails to hold the 0.5 Fib level and breaks downward, the bearish decline may continue, pushing the price toward lower levels.

Conversely, if the price breaks above the $0.55 resistance, it could spark a notable surge driven by short liquidations as traders rush to close their short positions.

TL;DR

• Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC continues, with key rulings in August and ongoing appeals.
• Speculation surrounds Ripple’s Swell event in Miami, with potential major announcements that could impact XRP’s price.

Recent Updates and Possible Developments

Despite the numerous court rulings in the past several months, the legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) goes on.

One of the most important happened at the start of August when Judge Torres determined that the sales of XRP on secondary markets to retail investors did not constitute securities transactions. At the same time, though, she ordered Ripple to pay a $125 million fine for violating certain rules. 

The company seemed pleased with the penalty, which represented just a fraction of the $2 billion the SEC initially requested. For its part, the regulator appealed a 2023 verdict set by Judge Torres (back then, she once again ruled that secondary sales of XRP did not constitute securities sales). 

Last week, Ripple’s CLO Stuart Alderoty said the firm filed a cross-appeal “to ensure nothing’s left on the table, including the argument that there can’t be an “investment contract” without there being essential rights and obligations found in a contract.”

He noted that the agency has already stated that it doesn’t contend with the ruling that XRP itself isn’t a security. “They even apologized in another case for suggesting a token itself could be a security,” the executive added.

Most recently, X user Ashely PROSPER shed further details regarding the specifics of the appeal process:

“After the appeal is docketed, the clerk refers the case to the CAMP office for the scheduling of a settlement conference. The conference takes place in the CAMP office or by telephone…

Counsel’s appearance at the conference is required, and counsel must be prepared to discuss the legal, factual, and procedural issues in depth. An attorney or client who fails to participate in the conference process in good faith may be sanctioned by the Court.”

The X user also said the SEC has until October 16 to reveal what it is actually appealing against. Interestingly, the deadline coincides with the same day Ripple Swell (the company’s annual flagship event) ends.

Various Speculations

This year, Ripple Swell will take place in Miami, Florida. The company revealed some of the preparations on X, while CEO Brad Garlinghouse welcomed the XRP Army to the eighth annual event. 

This caused a wave of speculation that Ripple would announce some major news during the gathering. Some guesses include an official launch of the firm’s US-pegged stablecoin RLUSD or a new strategy in the battle against the SEC.

Such developments could significantly impact XRP’s price, which has struggled to catch up with the rest of the leading cryptocurrencies lately. Currently, it trades at around $0.54 (per CoinGecko’s data), representing a 13% decline on a two-week scale.

Bitcoin’s price resurgence continued in the past 24 hours as the asset shot up to $66,500 for the first time since the end of September.

The altcoins have also turned green, and the total crypto market cap has added about $100 billion overnight.

BTC’s Surge Drove it to 3-Week High

It has taken some time but Uptober is starting to deliver on the big promises. It was just five days ago when the primary cryptocurrency dumped hard and fell to a multi-week low of under $59,000.

However, the bulls stepped up on the gas pedal in the following days, and BTC has not looked back. After recovering some ground during the weekend and jumping to $63,000, this volatile week began on an even more positive note yesterday and especially earlier today.

This is when the asset added over three grand in value within hours and tapped $66,500 for the first time since September 27. It has lost some traction since then and now trades below $66,000, but it’s still 5% up on the day.

Its market capitalization has skyrocketed to $1.3 trillion, while its dominance over the alts is above 54% on CG.

Altcoins on the Run

Many altcoins have produced even more impressive gains over the past 24 hours. Ethereum, which has largely underperformed in the past several months, is among those. It has risen by 6.5% and now sits at a multi-week peak of its own at over $2,600.

Solana’s daily surge is identical, and it now trades at $155. Bitcoin Cash, NEAR, and UNI have registered even more impressive increases. ENA and WLD are the two top performers from the largest 100 altcoins.

Consequently, the cumulative market cap of all crypto assets has added $100 billion overnight and $150 billion since the weekend, and now sits at $2.4 trillion.