According to Cointelegraph: The price of XRP has seen a boost of nearly 4.5% in the past 24 hours to reach a three-week high of $0.65. The uptick outperformed the broader crypto market's returns, which averaged around 1% over the same period.

One factor contributing to the price increase is the optimistic forecast regarding Ripple's ongoing lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ripple is looking to mitigate its potential settlement costs by over half, hinging on the precedence set by the Morrison vs. National Australia Bank case. Ripple aims to argue that the SEC's jurisdiction doesn't extend to XRP sales made to non-US investors, which, if successful, could significantly reduce the penalty or settlement size.

Another point to note is that the price surge coincides with a solid accumulation period among XRP's wealthiest investors. Wallets holding over 1 million tokens have seen supply increases of 20 million in December so far. This trend suggests that these 'whale' investors may be positioning themselves for future gains.

In contrast to Bitcoin, XRP's market dominance has risen by about 5% in the last 24 hours, implying that traders might be transferring capital from Bitcoin into altcoins like XRP with promising short-term upside potential.

However, technical indicators imply that the bears might hold sway in the near term. A potential pullback might see XRP's price drop to approximately $0.56 by next month. Continued bearish behavior could pull the price down further into the $0.45-0.50 range in early 2024. Yet, if XRP can break through the current resistance levels, its price could rise towards its 0.5 Fibonacci retracement line of around $0.85.