Ripple (XRP) price is experiencing approximately a 3% increase today, boosting investor confidence following the recent lockup of 800 million XRP. At the same time, significant whale activities are being highlighted amid ongoing developments in the Ripple and SEC case.
Whale Activity in Ripple
Particularly, the movement of 60 million XRP by a single whale to two crypto exchanges is leading to various speculations about its impacts, from strategic sales to Ripple’s liquidity management strategy. According to Whale Alert, a single whale shifted about 60 million XRP to two crypto exchanges. It is also noted that the same whale transferred significant amounts of XRP to these exchanges in recent days. The whale report, “r4wf7…. h4Rzn”, moved about 31.87 million XRP worth approximately $16.65 million to the Bitso exchange. Additionally, the same XRP whale transferred about 28.85 million XRP worth approximately $15.09 million to the Bitstamp exchange.
However, speculations about the reasons behind these transfers are increasing. While some view it as a strategic sale, others think it might align with Ripple’s liquidity management strategy. Particularly, the intertwined relationship between Ripple and Bitstamp adds complexity to the interpretation, as Ripple frequently utilizes XRP transfers for global fund transfers. Ripple recently submitted a detailed letter to support its motion in its escalating legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), filed on April 22, 2024.
SEC Discussions in XRP
Ripple aims to challenge the admissibility of an expert statement presented by the SEC, particularly focusing on the Andrea Fox Declaration, which it claims goes beyond basic arithmetic. On the other hand, the SEC argues that Fox’s statement is merely a simple summary of financial data and does not meet expert criteria. Meanwhile, XRP-supportive lawyer Bill Morgan predicts that Ripple will lose the motion but will manage to stir debates in the cryptocurrency market by obtaining permission to dismiss Fox. Similarly, lawyer Jeremy Hogan predicts that the SEC will win the motion, and even if Fox is accepted as an expert, Ripple’s statement will likely be allowed to testify instead of being completely rejected. Now, all eyes are on what the SEC will say in the upcoming response briefing scheduled for May 6, for potential clues about the future of the legal battle. At the time of writing, the XRP price was trading at $0.5207, up 2.67%, with a 24-hour trading volume down 43.15% to $1.01 billion. Ripple’s native cryptocurrency reached a high of $0.5243 and a low of $0.5067 in the last 24 hours.
