TL;DR
- Ripple (XRP) increased by 6% on July 12, reaching $0.47, despite a general market downturn.
- The price surge coincides with optimism about a potential resolution in Ripple’s lawsuit with the SEC.
XRP Heads North
The cryptocurrency sector is in the red today (July 12), with its global market capitalization dipping by 1.5% and currently hovering at the $2.22 trillion mark. Major digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), are down approximately 2% daily, while Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have performed even worse.
However, one leading cryptocurrency has defied the negative trends, and its name is Ripple (XRP). Its price spiked to $0.47, representing a 6% increase on a 24-hour scale and 18% weekly. This is also a serious comeback from the one-year low of $0.39 registered during the severe market correction last week.
XRP’s price revival comes at a time of increased expectations that the lengthy lawsuit between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is drawing to an end. The legal battle reached its trial stage in April this year, with the American attorney Fred Rispoli recently predicting that an outcome could occur as early as this month.
He also argued the resolution would include a penalty of no more than $25 million for the company and $0 disgorgement.
“Judge rules all sales she deemed illegal are permanently enjoined, and rules all the “new” contracts referenced by Ripple are not properly before her, so SEC will have to sue again if it believes these violate her ruling,” the lawyer added.
Another person who believes the case may officially end this summer is the lawyer Jeremy Hogan. He envisioned a $100 million settlement and $0 disgorgement.
It is worth noting, though, that the lawsuit might be prolonged indefinitely due to the complexity of the legal process and possible appeals from both sides. If you are curious to learn more about the spat and its potential impact on XRP’s price, feel free to take a look at our dedicated video below:
Disagreement on the Penalty
One major issue surrounding the lawsuit is the size of Ripple’s potential fine. The SEC initially sought a whopping $2 billion, accusing the company of conducting an unregistered securities offering via XRP sales. Ripple did not welcome the idea, insisting on a sum no larger than $10 million.
It later compared the case with the one between the watchdog and Terraform Labs, saying direct allegations of fraud were only evident in the one against the defunct crypto company. Shortly after, the SEC softened its tone, proposing a $102.6 million penalty:
“Ripple avoids comparing the Terraform settlement’s penalty to the gross profit of the violative conduct. That ratio ($420 million/$3.587 billion) is significantly higher: 11.7%. Applying it to the $876.3 million in gross profits, the SEC here asks the court to disgorge, which results in a much larger figure, a $102.6 million penalty, than the $10 million ceiling Ripple insists on.”
