• XRP price seems to be struggling to breach the $0.600 mark as the market is presently focused on Bitcoin.
• The SEC is continuing its futile attempts at bringing down Ripple, now filing a motion to produce the company’s financial statement.
• The regulator is also jumping on the chance to reveal Ripple’s post-Complaint contracts governing “Institutional Sales”.

The crypto market is, at the moment, focused entirely on Bitcoin owing to the recent spot BTC ETF approval, but the same cannot be said about the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that continues to fight Ripple, impacting the XRP price in return. Per its latest attempt, the regulatory body now wants the company’s financial statement for the past year.

SEC goes after Ripple

The SEC filed a motion to compel Ripple to produce the company’s financial statement from 2022 to 2023. In addition to this, the regulatory body is also set to ask for Ripple’s post-Complaint contracts governing “Institutional Sales.”

Earlier in July last year, Ripple won the court’s ruling in the lawsuit filed by the SEC against the payment processor. The ruling stated that XRP is not a security on a retail level but did not give this standing to the token at an institutional level. This partial win has allowed the SEC to attempt to win the entire case, the efforts of which can be seen in this filing.

However, whether or not the court gives it approval is yet to be seen since SEC’s track record of winning the court’s ruling has not been the best in the past couple of major cases, including the likes of Grayscale, which led to the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF.

XRP price breach fails

XRP price fell by 5.26% in the past 24 hours to trade at $0.572 at the time of writing. The decline came after the altcoin failed to breach the resistance level, which was marked at $0.600. This price point acted as a crucial support line from early December to the beginning of 2024 and has since been tested as a resistance twice.

Price indicators at the moment suggest that the altcoin is bound to witness none to mild bearishness that could result in either sideways movement or declines. In the case of the former, XRP price would remain rangebound between $0.600 and $0.551. However, the latter could likely lead to a decline below $0.551. This might result in a drawdown to $0.505, marking a 10% fall in price.

XRP/USD 1-day chart

On the other hand, if broader market cues note a shift in funds from Bitcoin to altcoins, recovery is possible, which would be confirmed only when the $0.600 barrier is breached. This would invalidate the bearish thesis and provide strength for further rally.

BITCOIN, ALTCOINS, STABLECOINS FAQS

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.

What are altcoins?

Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.

What are stablecoins?

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.

What is Bitcoin Dominance?

Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin’s market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.