XRP (Ripple) Price Falls Nearly 17% After Reports the U.S. SEC Plans to Sue the Company
XRP plunged sharply over the past 24 hours, dropping nearly 17% against the U.S. dollar at the time of writing. The Ripple token is currently trading around $0.46 and could fall further if downward pressure persists.
Daily XRP/USD chart. Source: TradingView
Today’s sharp losses follow reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to sue Ripple for allegedly selling unregistered securities.
XRP is trading below the 20-day exponential moving average ($0.537). The break of the horizontal trend line from a descending triangle pattern, combined with several nearby resistance zones, suggests reclaiming recent highs may be difficult for XRP bulls.
In addition to trading below the 20 EMA on the daily chart, XRP/USD is also near the lower boundary of a descending parallel channel on the hourly chart. That trend line points to extended losses down to $0.439.
Hourly XRP/USD chart. Source: TradingView
The hourly RSI has dropped below the midpoint and is trading in oversold territory, which could encourage buyers to attempt a rebound. However, the MACD remains firmly in bearish territory, and without decisive bullish action, XRP/USD is likely to consolidate between $0.430 and $0.501.
The bearish outlook would be invalidated if XRP/USD breaks above $0.51 and retests levels near $0.540.
SEC to Sue Ripple for Selling Securities
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse took to Twitter to decry what he called the SEC’s attack on crypto.
“Today the SEC voted to attack crypto. Chairman Jay Clayton, in his final act, is picking winners and trying to limit American innovation in crypto to BTC and ETH,” he wrote.
Garlinghouse added that the regulator was “out of step with other G20 countries [and] the rest of the U.S. government.” He suggested that the SEC’s decision to pursue Ripple would “directly” benefit China and vowed:
“Make no mistake, we are ready to fight and win — this battle is only beginning.”
SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said XRP is not a security, as Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) previously clarified, and expressed optimism about Ripple prevailing in a final U.S. ruling.
By contrast, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin criticized Ripple’s stance.
“It looks like the Ripple/XRP team is sinking to new levels of weirdness. They argue their token shouldn’t be considered a security for public policy reasons, in part because Bitcoin and Ethereum are ‘controlled by the Chinese,’” he wrote.
Ripple investors will be watching developments closely. As Garlinghouse noted, this may be only the beginning for XRP and the team; the price’s future direction should become clearer if and when the SEC follows through with a lawsuit.