<\/p>\n
Ripple (XRP) is the 5th largest crypto by market cap behind BTC, ETH, USDT, and BNB. In mid-October 2023, Ripple had a market capitalization of $26.6 billion.<\/p>\n
XRP price began to rally again in mid-October after six months of hardly moving (other than a July spike that lasted about a few weeks).<\/p>\n
Here are six major XRP price<\/a> factors moving forward:<\/p>\n Ripple tokens jumped to 6% gains on the 7-day window Thursday after markets welcomed news of an SEC retreat on two key parts of its Ripple lawsuit.<\/p>\n The Securities and Exchange Commission said in<\/a> court papers it is dropping all claims against two key Ripple executives.<\/p>\n That will spare both executives a jury trial. The dropped charges leave the case down to negotiating over penalties to Ripple Labs, the SEC said in its filing.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThe dismissal of civil claims against Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, who were sued for assisting Ripple Labs\u2019s sales, will likely encourage wealthy crypto defendants to fight regulators in court.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Larsen and Garlinghouse have been vociferous critics of the SEC over its lawsuit against Ripple. According to Reuters, Garlinghouse said:<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of looking for the criminals stealing customer funds on offshore exchanges that were courting political favor, the SEC went after the good guys.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The statement seemed to reference FTX<\/a> exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently standing trial for criminal charges related to FTX and Alameda Research.<\/p>\n XRP price made market waves in July after a US judge ruled against the SEC that Ripple tokens are not securities. But that victory was short-lived. In October, the XRP price is back down to where it was 6 months ago.<\/p>\n That could happen again after this month\u2019s victories for Ripple if the SEC keeps slow-walking<\/a> its lawsuit and dragging on the uncertainty about Ripple\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Before the SEC dropped charges against Larsen and Garlinghouse, TheStreet recently reported<\/a> that Ripple has been one of crypto\u2019s worst-performing assets in October:<\/p>\n \u201cThe subdued performance of Ripple in mid-October now makes the crypto among the most poorly-performing tokens on the crypto market, wiping any gains it previously made.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ripple (and Binance) are easy targets for the SEC because they are not as decentralized as Bitcoin and Ethereum and have a more corporate structure. The longer the SEC fight drags on, the more tepid the waters for investors.<\/p>\n While the looming question of XRP\u2019s regulatory status is holding back some investors, others are holding Ripple in hopes<\/a> they\u2019ll be in the money when this finally settles.<\/p>\n It is possible the SEC will wave the white flag once and for all very soon after all the setbacks to its case this year. Perhaps it\u2019s even a likelihood. At least the SEC may be more ready to go ahead and settle with Ripple Lab. If and when that does happen, it will undoubtedly send XRP price surging again.<\/p>\n After the SEC backed down from taking the two top Ripple Labs execs to trial, the XRP price jumped from $0.49 to $0.53 on October 19. So, a final resolution to all of the SEC\u2019s actions against Ripple will almost certainly bring the bulls back for another rally.<\/p>\n Given the duration and cost of the legal battles Ripple has had to fight against the SEC, there could even be a prolonged bull market for XRP to satisfy years of pent-up demand.<\/p>\n With a decisive outcome to the SEC\u2019s game of cat-and-mouse, the subsequent rally would be apt to sustain longer than the July bull run.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Fighting for market share with a number of strategic competitors is an ongoing headwind for Ripple. In Q4 2023, the battle for crypto investors\u2019 capital is heating up.<\/p>\n Based on the amount of funds <\/a>raised\u00a0for blockchain startups in Q3, the capital community markedly favors DeFi projects over more centralized finance blockchains like Ripple.<\/p>\n This DeFi vs. CeFi narrative could be <\/a>an ongoing headache for cryptocurrency investors hanging their hats on the XRP price. (More on fundraising and Ripple in price factor #7 below.)<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bitcoin\u2019s dominance<\/a> or market share of 51% in the crypto industry is at a 31-month high.<\/p>\n More than a year of headline news favoring Bitcoin\u2019s decentralized network in both industry-focused and mainstream outlets is a headwind for CeFi companies like Ripple and Binance.<\/p>\n While XRP price traded down some 3% for the 6-month period ending just before this week\u2019s SEC retreat, trading on crypto exchanges had already begun to break upward.<\/p>\n Before the latest victory in the SEC lawsuit, XRP had just recently gained 2.6% in average crypto exchange prices over a 5-day window.<\/p>\n That put Ripple\u2019s price a notch above even for the previous 30 days. Moreover, the accumulation of<\/a> Ripple whale addresses portends a possible recovery in the near future.<\/p>\n Despite the good news and strong technical signals for Ripple this week, a whale-sized chunk of XRP tokens recently sent to Bitstamp could overload the market with supplies.<\/p>\n Ripple Labs sent over 30 million XRP to the crypto exchange earlier this month. That could over-stuff the market with XRP supply and cause a headwind for the Ripple price if the company intends to sell it.<\/p>\n It could be possible that Ripple is getting ready to sell those XRP tokens for cash to pay any fines incurred in a ruling or settlement with the SEC.<\/p>\n Ripple Labs could be going public with an IPO and become a Wall Street traded company. That would bring renewed interest, fresh capital and business alliances, and a ton of earned media attention.<\/p>\n While there has been little in the way of official validation for them, rumors of a Ripple IPO are all over crypto Twitter (X.com) this week. That would bring in a potentially enormous amount of institutional and mainstream capital and greatly expand the Ripple ecosystem\u2019s overall balance sheet.<\/p>\n1. Tailwind: SEC Drops Charges Against Ripple Executives<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
2. Headwind: Ongoing SEC Lawsuit Depresses XRP Price<\/h2>\n
\n
3. Tailwind: Ripple Investors Hope SEC Will Settle Soon<\/h2>\n
4. Headwind: Intense Competition from Bitcoin, DeFi<\/h2>\n
5. Tailwind: Positive Market Signals for XRP Price<\/h2>\n
6. Headwind: Ripple Labs Gluts Bitstamp with XRP<\/h2>\n
7. Tailwind: Possible Ripple IPO in The Works<\/h2>\n
\nBinance Free $100 (Exclusive): Use this link<\/a> to register and receive $100 free and 10% off fees on Binance Futures first month<\/b> (terms<\/a>).<\/p>\n