According to CryptoPotato, XRP, after briefly surpassing the $0.50 mark, has experienced a slight decline in the past 12 hours. Despite this, the short-lived uptrend managed to offset its weekly losses, making XRP the only top cryptocurrency to show a slight increase during the same period.
In line with the price action, XRP has seen a surge in open interest (OI) as traders continue to closely monitor the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This increase in OI indicates that investors are opening positions in anticipation of a rise in XRP’s price, as per the latest analysis by CryptoQuant. The on-chain analytic platform also noted the increased trading activity around XRP, currently the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. This trend could be indicative of bullish investor sentiment, but it could also lead to potential market volatility.
The dispute between Ripple and the SEC began in December 2020 when the SEC accused the blockchain firm and some of its executives of conducting an unregistered securities offering through XRP sales. In 2021, US District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the automated, open markets sales of the cryptocurrency by the San Francisco-based firm were not considered securities offerings, contradicting the SEC’s allegations. However, the judge agreed with the SEC that Ripple’s direct XRP sales to institutional investors were indeed securities offerings.
The latest legal spat revolves around the size of Ripple’s potential penalty. Initially, the SEC sought a $2 billion fine, while Ripple’s lawyers suggested that the civil penalty should not exceed $10 million, comparing it to the recent settlement of Terraform Labs. The regulatory watchdog then countered Ripple’s proposal with a $102.6 million figure, significantly lower than the originally requested fine.