Ripple [XRP] gains strength as countdown to SEC verdict begins

• XRP reacted to the news of a possible lawsuit resolution date.
• The altcoin’s network growth and velocity plummeted.

Ripple’s [XRP] market capitalization shot past $20 billion for the first time since the FTX  contagion hit the market more than two months ago, data from CoinMarketCap showed. At press time, XRP exchanged hands at $0.4052 after gaining 18% since the start of 2023.

This came on the heels of the global crypto market cap reclaiming the $1 trillion mark, which indicated the reversal of FTX-induced losses. 

Read Ripple’s [XRP] Price Prediction 2023-24

XRP rallies as the countdowns begin

In a recent interaction, the CEO of Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse hoped for a settlement of the two-year-long Ripple vs SEC lawsuit in the first half of 2023. He stated that Ripple was optimistic about its chances given the law and facts on the ground. 

Interestingly, XRP breached the key resistance at $0.39 following Garlinghouse’s claim on the settlement resolution date. At the time of writing, the price faced resistance at $0.4076. This level has limited XRP’s ascent in the past hence bulls will be hoping to go beyond this to strengthen the idea of an FTX reversal.

Source: Trading View XRP/USD

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Awesome Oscillator (AO) suggested that bulls were still in control. However, the On Balance Volume (OBV) faced resistance. A move beyond the indicated level could result in another rally for XRP.

XRP’s adoption is still a worry?

However, all was not well if on-chain data was to be believed. As per Santiment data, network growth continued its downward trajectory indicating that user adoption was still not up to the mark. Even the velocity indicator, which went up on 18 January on the news of the lawsuit resolution, has dropped sharply since then.

Investors’ confidence remained low as weighted sentiment proceeded in the negative territory over the past week. 

Source: Santiment

According to Coinalyze, XRP’s Open interest (OI) remained flat while the price recorded gains. This divergence signaled a possible decline from $0.4076. 

Source: Coinalyze

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The verdict of the SEC’s case against Ripple over the status of XRP could have significant implications for the cryptocurrency market in the United States. The laws governing the status of cryptocurrencies as commodities or securities are still not very clear.

Recently Ripple CTO, David Schwartz explained why XRP should be treated as a commodity while replying to a claim by another Twitter user.