XRP News Today: SEC Plans to Appeal Against Programmatic Sales Ruling in Jeopardy

The Friday Overview

On Friday, XRP gained 2.47%. Following a 2.19% rise on Thursday, XRP ended the session at $0.6017.

SEC v Ripple: Court Approves Amended Briefing Schedule

SEC v Ripple case-related updates garnered investor interest on Friday. The court approved the SEC request from February 29 to amend the court briefing schedule. In the filing, the SEC requested for a one-week extension to the deadline for filing its remedy-related brief.

The SEC must now file its remedy-related brief by March 22.

Additionally, the SEC requested amendments to the filing dates for Ripple’s remedy-related brief and the SEC reply brief.

The new court briefing schedule is as follows:

• March 22: The SEC must file its remedy-related brief.
• April 22: Ripple must file its remedy-related brief.
• May 6: The SEC must file its reply brief.

After the remedy-related filings, Judge Analisa Torres will decide the penalty for breaching Section 5 of the US Securities Act. No trial is involved in the remedies-related penalty phase. In July 2023, Judge Torres ruled Ripple breached Section 5 for XRP sales to institutional investors. Judge Torres also ruled programmatic sales of XRP do not satisfy the third prong of the Howey Test.

Concerns about SEC plans to appeal against the Programmatic Sales ruling remain an XRP headwind.

SEC Plans to Appeal Against the Programmatic Sales Ruling is Under Threat

The SEC faces increasing obstacles to appealing against the Programmatic Sales ruling. Several events could end SEC plans to appeal against the Programmatic Sales ruling, including,

• SEC v Coinbase: Investors await a court ruling on the Coinbase (COIN) Motion to Dismiss (MTD). Coinbase argued the SEC lacked the statutory authority to regulate crypto exchanges. If Judge Failla grants the MTD, the SEC may end its regulation of the US digital asset space through enforcement.
• Office of Inspector General (OIG): The OIG is nearing the end of its investigation into crypto conflicts of interest within the SEC. If the OIG finds the SEC acted biasedly against XRP and Ripple, the SEC could end plans to appeal against the Programmatic Sales ruling.
• SEC v Kraken: Kraken filed a Motion to Dismiss in February. A ruling in favor of Kraken could also impact SEC plans to appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling.

The SEC will need to win the cases against Coinbase and Kraken. Significantly, the OIG must find no wrongdoing by the SEC. In contrast, the XRP Community may need one favorable outcome to pour cold water on SEC plans to appeal.

On Friday, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal shared the latest updates from the SEC v Kraken case, saying,

“Montana just filed a rather remarkable amicus brief in the SEC’s enforcement case against Kraken. 7 other states support it.”

Diminishing fear over the SEC planning to appeal against the Programmatic Sales ruling would be a boon for XRP. XRP is up 2.83% year-to-date, trailing the broader crypto market by a sizeable margin. The total crypto market cap is up 41.57% to $2,272 billion year-to-date. Investors could consider XRP as a buying opportunity.

Significantly, an end to SEC plans to appeal the Programmatic Sales ruling could open the door to an XRP-spot ETF market.

XRP Price Action

Daily Chart

XRP remained well above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, confirming the bullish price signals. Significantly, the 50-day EMA closed in on the 200-day EMA, another bullish signal.

An XRP break above the $0.6354 resistance level would support a move toward the $0.7047 resistance level.

The OIG Investigation and SEC v crypto case-related updates need consideration.

However, a fall through the $0.62 handle would give the bears a run at the $0.5835 support level.

The 14-day RSI reading, 73.25, shows XRP in overbought territory. XRP could face intense selling pressure at the $0.6354 resistance level.

4-Hourly Chart

On the 4-hourly, XRP sat well above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, reaffirming the bullish price signals.

An XRP breakout from the $0.6354 resistance level would give the bulls a run at the $0.7047 resistance level.

However, a drop below the $0.62 handle would bring the $0.5835 support level into view.

The 4-hourly RSI, with a reading of 69.36, shows XRP on the border with overbought territory. Selling pressure may intensify at the $0.6354 resistance level.