While XRP is trading more than 16% up from Thursday’s lows and is back to the north of its 200DMA and the psychologically important $0.50 level, the world’s fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization continues to trade lower by around 20% on the week.
XRP, the token that powers the XRP Ledger which was launched by US fintech firm Ripple Labs more than one decade ago, has fallen hard this week amid a broader rout in the cryptocurrency market that has seen other major tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) also take a big hit.
A few things have been weighing on broad crypto sentiment.
Firstly, macro has been a headwind in recent weeks – US long-dated bond yields are back near multi-year highs as traders bet the strong US economy means higher interest rates for longer, while US stocks (correlated to crypto in recent years) have been pulling back.
Thinner than usual August liquidity conditions, which mean the month is often volatile and bearish (in the stock market, at least), have also been cited.
The fact that Bitcoin and Ether both broke below major support levels, calling their 2023 uptrends into question, has also weighed heavily on sentiment.
The net result for XRP is that it is now down nearly 50% from the more than 1-year highs it hit earlier this year in the $0.90s.
Judge Torres Hands SEC a Lifeline in Lawsuit Against Ripple
Another factor likely to be weighing on XRP specifically is the fact that a US judge just handed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a lifeline in its lawsuit against XRP’s issuer Ripple Labs.
Judge Torres, who is presiding over the case, just approved the SEC’s appeal to file an interlocutory appeal in wake of a key decision she issued last month.
Back in July, Torres ruled that Ripple’s electronic/algorithmic sales of XRP to retail customers via exchanges did not constitute a securities offering.
However, she did rule that Ripple’s institutional sales violated US securities law.
The SEC sued Ripple back in December 2020, claiming they sold $1.3 billion worth of unregistered securities in the form of the XRP token.
As per attorney John Deaton, the appeal’s approval by Torres should lengthen the lawsuit by another 3-6 months.
Where Next for XRP?
XRP’s sudden and dramatic reversal lows from last month’s highs has seen it break to the south of its 2023 uptrend.
Should it also lose a grip on its 200DMA, then a fall back to support levels in the $0.45, $0.41, $0.35 and $0.30 levels becomes a possibility.
Will XRP Fall to 1 Cent?
If XRP fell to 1 cent from current levels, that would mark a 98% drawdown from current levels.
While more near-term downside is certainly a possibility, a drop this big is unlikely, especially in light of the fact that Ripple remains in the driving seat in its lawsuit versus the SEC.
While the latest broad crypto market downside is a setback, it remains too early to call an end to the 2023 bull market, with most major coins still substantially higher on the year.
XRP Alternatives to Consider
For crypto investors looking to diversify, an alternative high-risk-high-reward investment strategy to consider is getting involved in crypto presales.
This is where investors buy the tokens of up-start crypto projects to help fund their development.
These tokens are nearly always sold very cheap and there is a long history of presales delivering huge exponential gains to early investors.
Many of these projects have fantastic teams behind them and a great vision to deliver a revolutionary crypto application/platform.
If an investor can identify such projects, the risk/reward of their presale investment is very good.
The team at Cryptonews spends a lot of time combing through presale projects to help investors out.
Here is a list of 15 of what the project deems as the best crypto presales of 2023.
See the 15 Cryptocurrencies
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
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