XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has recently dropped below the significant $3 mark, reflecting a broader sell-off in the crypto market amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
Prominent attorney Bill Morgan has suggested that the recent price stagnation of XRP, traditionally linked to Ripple’s legal issues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is no longer a valid excuse. He expressed this sentiment in response to a query from an X user, Jake Claver, regarding the status of a $125 million penalty imposed by the court in the SEC case.
In a follow-up, XRP commentator Marc Fagel clarified that the fine had been paid to the U.S. Treasury last month, effectively concluding Ripple’s nearly five-year battle against the SEC. Following this, Morgan indicated that the XRP community should not continue to attribute its price challenges to the conclusion of the legal issues.
“The lawsuit excuse has run its course for any further lack of XRP adoption or flat price action,” Morgan stated on social media.
The SEC originally filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, claiming the company raised $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering, casting a long regulatory shadow over XRP. However, earlier this year, Judge Analisa Torres delivered a mixed ruling, indicating that while XRP sold through exchanges did not classify as securities, certain sales to institutional investors did. This ruling provided some relief to XRP investors although it was not the outright victory they had hoped for.
By August 2023, both Ripple and the SEC agreed to dismiss their respective appeals, officially ending the legal clamor. During this time, investors saw some remarkable gains as XRP surged over 70%, climbing from roughly 47 cents to around 80 cents. It even peaked at an impressive $3.65 earlier in July before experiencing a downturn.
Currently, XRP is trading at approximately $2.85, reflecting a 4.5% decrease over the past 24 hours. This price correction comes just after the launch of the first U.S.-listed XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF), which achieved a remarkable $37.7 million in trading volume on its first day. However, substantial profit-taking appears to have overshadowed the initial bullish momentum.
