The SEC vs. Ripple case will be in the spotlight this week amid hopes the SEC will withdraw its appeal against Judge Torres’ Programmatic Sale of XRP ruling. On June 27, Ripple announced plans to drop its cross-appeal despite Judge Torres rejecting a second joint motion requesting an indicative ruling on settlement terms.
Ripple announced its plans one day after Judge Torres’ ruling, suggesting that it made contingency plans with the SEC in case of a second rejection. Certainly, Ripple would be unlikely to drop its appeal without assurances the SEC would do the same. Nevertheless, uncertainty lingers ahead of any SEC announcement.
James ‘MetaLawMan’ Murphy noted that the SEC and Ripple don’t require court permission to drop their appeals, stating:
“The SEC & Ripple do not need permission from any court to dismiss their appeals. My GUESS is we will see dismissals of both appeals soon because the lawyers for both sides had to have anticipated this outcome—that Judge Torres would not vacate her prior ruling.”
However, the SEC may need to vote on dropping its appeal without Judge Torres’ indicative ruling on vacating the injunction prohibiting XRP sales to institutional investors and reducing the penalty to $50 million.
Former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel remarked on the agency’s likely steps toward withdrawing its appeal, stating:
“The SEC still has to vote to drop their appeal in order for this to be completely over. But they 100% will do so.”
When asked about whether the SEC had already voted on dropping the appeal as part of the settlement vote, Fagel added:
“They voted to authorize a settlement agreement: simply dropping the case is a different action. That said, we don’t know what exactly they voted on—it would be unusual for them to have simultaneously voted to approve both options, but nothing about this is normal.”
On July 3, the SEC will hold a Closed Meeting, the first opportunity for SEC Chair Paul Atkins and the Commissioners to discuss and potentially vote on the appeal withdrawal in a quorum. A vote in favor of dropping the appeal would pave the way for the parties to file motions to dismiss, concluding the case.
XRP rose 0.93% on Sunday, June 29, following Saturday’s 2.02% rally, closing at $2.2068. The token underperformed the broader market, which climbed 1.25%, taking the total crypto market cap to $3.3 trillion. Uncertainty about the SEC’s appeal withdrawal plans capped XRP’s upside.
The near-term XRP price trajectory depends on the SEC’s appeal moves and XRP-spot ETF headlines.
A breakout from the June 29 high of $2.2195 and the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) could bring the June 16 high of $2.3389 into play. Sustained buying pressure may pave the way to the May high of $2.6553. A move through $2.6553 could enable the bulls to target the January 16 high of $3.3999.
Conversely, a drop below the 200-day EMA could open the door to retesting support at $2. Adverse news from the SEC may expose the $1.9299 support level.
For a deeper dive, see our full XRP forecast here.
While XRP advanced on legal developments, bitcoin (BTC) extended its winning streak on speculation about the US dropping capital gains tax on BTC.
Crypto enthusiast the Bitcoin Historian remarked:
“Trump Advisor Bailey confirms US will vote tonight on bill to remove Bitcoin capital gains. Law would be an amendment to Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which passed the US House and is now being debated by the Senate.”
However, there were reports David Bailey referred to a Bitcoin and crypto tax amendment, not a vote on dropping capital gains. Nevertheless, favorable tax amendments would be a boost for BTC and the broader US digital asset space.
Easing Middle East tensions and expectations of a Q3 Fed rate cut remained tailwinds for BTC on June 30. US BTC-spot ETF market flow trends reflected robust demand, driving BTC toward its record high of $111,917.
According to Farside Investors, BTC-spot ETF issuers registered total net inflows of $501.2 million on June 27. Key flow trends included
ETF Store President Nate Geraci remarked on the inflow streak, suggesting a potential surge in inflows, stating:
“Talked to someone in the space today who said institutional & advisor adoption hadn’t even really fully begun.”
BTC gained 0.94% on June 29, following Saturday’s 0.20% rise, closing at $108,350. Notably, BTC extended its winning streak to three sessions.
The near-term price outlook hinges on several key drivers, including Fed rate cut rhetoric, trade developments, Iran and Israel upholding the ceasefire, and ETF flows.
Potential scenarios:
Investors should look out for an SEC announcement on its appeal plans, legislative headlines, Middle East news, trade developments, Fed guidance, and ETF flows. These factors remain crucial for near-term price trends. They could determine whether XRP or BTC revisits record highs.
See where analysts expect XRP and BTC to head as legal and political risks evolve.
With over 28 years of experience in the financial industry, Bob has worked with various global rating agencies and multinational banks. Currently he is covering currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes and global equities, focusing mostly on European and Asian markets.