- February 20th is a momentous day in the ongoing Ripple lawsuit as the remedies-related discovery phase comes to an end.
- XRP has shown great stability at the $0.56 level as on-chain data reveals consistent token accumulation by whales.
The ongoing Ripple lawsuit continues to influence XRP prices, and Feb 20th marks a significant event for the case and prices. February 20th marks a key deadline, marking the end of remedies-related discovery. During this phase, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs were expected to conduct a formal exchange of information.
Of note, this was scheduled to end on Feb 12th, but Ripple had requested the courts for a one-week extension of the deadline. This allowed Ripple extra time to compile the information requested by the SEC regarding post-complaint institutional sales of XRP.
Some have speculated that the next phase could lead to a settlement. The discovery phase allows the involved parties to discover each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Both Ripple and the SEC have shown an interest in a settlement, but it was clear they could not agree on the figures. The SEC was rumored to be seeking $770 million in settlement fees. This is a monstrous amount that Ripple would never agree to, but with the discovery phase illuminating more details for the SEC, the regulator is likely to significantly reduce this amount. Legal experts have revealed that anything below $20 million would be a win for Ripple. As speculated, a settlement would benefit both parties.
The SEC is running a huge risk, with most legal experts anticipating a loss for the regulator. Ripple, on the other hand, is facing huge legal fees as it continues to defend its position. The case has also hindered its growth with huge plans such as going public and the potential of an XRP ETF, which is approved by the SEC being put on hold.
As investors look forward to the next phase, it has been revealed that XRP whales have been making silent moves in anticipation of a bullish breakout. Data from the crypto intelligence platform Santiment reveals that XRP’s large wallet holders have consistently been buying tokens. This partially explains the token’s performance in recent weeks and further paints a bullish future.
At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5677 after a 1% surge in the last 24 hours, which pushes its weekly gains by nearly 10%.
With a market cap of $30.9 billion, XRP is now the 6th largest cryptocurrency by market cap. In addition to its bullish technical setup and positive lawsuit developments, investors are further bullish based on the recent XRPL network growth and upgrades.
Recently, Marzell, founder of Crypto Pilot, an automated crypto trading tool, has set his sights on an optimistic price target for XRP, forecasting a rise to $0.76 in the short term. Investors are optimistic of retesting its all-time high of $3.84 before the end of the year.
