The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States has officially recognized Bitwise’s recent filing for a spot XRP ETF under the 19b-4 regulation. This marks the third approval granted by the regulatory body following similar applications from Grayscale and 21Shares.
As of the present moment, only submissions from Canary Funds and Wisdom Tree are pending approval. Nonetheless, the SEC’s latest action is seen as a favorable development for Ripple amidst its ongoing legal battle.
Could the SEC Drop the Lawsuit Against Ripple?
During a recent podcast, Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, referred to comments made by Scott Johnson, suggesting that the recent updates could lead to the dismissal of Ripple’s lawsuit. Balchunas indicated,
‘Scott Johnson believed that this signal indicated a potential withdrawal of the lawsuit. It is unlikely to gain approval if viewed as a security.’
Johnson, a well-regarded legal expert in finance, has had success in predicting outcomes related to crypto ETFs.
Furthermore, the forecasting platform Polymarket has set the odds of XRP ETF approval by the conclusion of 2025 at 78%.
Looking at the price action, XRP stands out as one of the leading alternative cryptocurrencies that has maintained its post-US election surge despite prevailing market pessimism. The coin has surged by 416% since November and is currently priced at $2.5.
Over the same timeframe, the Exchange Supply Ratio has decreased from above 0.032 to 0.028. This metric assesses the supply available on exchanges and consequently, the selling pressure. The declining trend suggests reduced selling pressure overall, potentially explaining XRP’s ability to retain its gains made post-election.
However, XRP has been hovering around the lower boundaries of its ascending channel for some time. Any sustained bearish pressure coupled with a downturn in Bitcoin could push it towards the $2 support level.
Additionally, there is a lack of strong bullish momentum observed through the directional index indicator, while the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains near neutrality. This indicates neutral to weak momentum for XRP in the short run.
Nevertheless, a reversal in Bitcoin’s recent losses leading to an improvement in overall market sentiment could alter this scenario.