XRP jumps 25% as SEC may not appeal after Gensler’s departure

On November 22, 2024By Littum

Key takeaways

XRP’s price surged 25% amid speculation of reduced SEC enforcement following Gensler.
Pantera expects fewer SEC lawsuits and possible layoffs after Gensler’s departure.

Ripple’s XRP token surged 25% to over $1.4 on Friday, maintaining its upward trajectory after SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announced that his tenure will officially end on January 20. Gensler’s exit could prompt the agency to reevaluate its approach to current litigation, possibly leading to a decision against pursuing its appeal in SEC vs. The Ripple trial.

Consensys CEO Joe Lubin expects a favorable legal environment for digital assets under Trump’s presidency. He suggests that ongoing SEC cases against crypto companies may be “dismissed or settled.”

Pantera Chief Legal Officer Katrina Paglia predicts fewer actions and potential layoffs after Gensler’s departure. Many SEC lawsuits against crypto companies are expected to drop or settle without major admissions of guilt after Gensler.

New leadership could lead to the SEC reaching a settlement with Ripple instead of continuing its lengthy litigation process. Although financial penalties may be involved in a settlement, Ripple would be able to continue its operations without the burden of ongoing litigation.

XRP is up 138% this year, dwarfing Ethereum’s performance and closing in on Bitcoin’s year-to-date gains, according to data from CoinGecko.

The sixth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has experienced a period of stagnation since last year’s market rebound, with prices fluctuating between $0.5 and $0.6 while most of the crypto market is on the rise.

Last week, XRP crossed the $1 threshold and hit its highest price in three years amid speculation about Gensler’s potential resignation and rumors of a meeting between Trump and Ripple’s CEO. The first is now confirmed.

XRP is now seeing the $2 level according to crypto analyst Ali Martinez. He believes that Gensler’s departure from the SEC is “the best thing that could happen to Ripple.”

‘@GaryGensler leaving @SECGov is the best thing that could happen to @Ripple. Now, $XRP target $2! pic.twitter.com/LLE4n0MC8z

— Ali (@ali_charts) 21 November 2024

Potential XRP ETFs

The potential approval of a spot XRP ETF in the US could act as a bullish driver for XRP’s price.

Bitwise and Canary Capital seek SEC approval for their respective spot XRP ETFs. These proposed ETFs are currently on hold due to ongoing legal disputes over XRP’s status as a security.

On Thursday, asset manager WisdomTree announced the launch of a physical XRP ETP in Europe.

The fund, also known as the WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP (XRPW), aims to give investors exposure to the spot price of XRP.

WisdomTree claims that this product is the cheapest XRP ETP available in Europe and is fully backed by the underlying asset, safely stored in cold storage.

With this launch in Europe, many members of the crypto community are optimistic that similar XRP ETF products will soon debut in the US