- Gensler’s departure signals a shift in Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC, leading to a price surge in XRP.
- Analysts predict XRP ETFs could attract $3-$8 billion in inflows, boosting market adoption.
- The crypto community anticipates a change in SEC’s stance, fueling hopes for Ripple’s success.
Gary Gensler officially concluded his tenure as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, marking a significant turning point in the ongoing legal saga between the SEC and Ripple. In the wake of his exit, Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, went to social media with a bold statement: with immediate effect from Saturday, the name Gensler did not hold relevance in discussions about the future of the SEC.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Alderoty sarcastically said, “Gary who?”-a sign of Ripple’s growing confidence in its battle against the SEC, which has been ongoing since 2020. Ripple and the SEC have clashed over allegations that Ripple’s cryptocurrency, XRP, was sold as an unregistered security- an accusation that token has always denied.
While Ripple celebrated a partial victory in 2023 when a judge ruled that the sales of XRP to retail investors did not violate securities laws, the battle is far from over. The SEC promptly appealed the decision, continuing legal uncertainty over Ripple and the greater crypto industry.
This tension was further heightened the moment the SEC filed an appeal against the district court’s decision on grounds that all XRP transactions, including those with retail investors, fall under investment contracts according to the Howey Test-a critical framework used in determining what an investment constitutes.
Ripple’s Surge and $2.7 Billion Return as Gensler Departs SEC
Gary Gensler’s legacy as SEC Chairman has been marked by a staunch, aggressive stance on regulating the cryptocurrency industry. Throughout his tenure, Gensler spearheaded over 80 lawsuits against major crypto firms, including Ripple, Coinbase, and Uniswap. Despite the controversies surrounding his approach, Gensler defended his actions, claiming that crypto enforcement represented only a small portion of the SEC’s overall activities.
The former US SEC chair shared a video on X. Gensler reflected on his four years in office, highlighting his accomplishments in modernizing financial markets and returning over $2.7 billion to harmed investors. But for Ripple and many within the crypto community, Gensler’s departure signals a shift in the regulatory landscape. On the heels of his exit, XRP has seen a surge in price, climbing to $3.27 as traders and Ripple supporters celebrated his last day.
The rally has also been fueled by a bullish technical chart formation: a bullish pennant pattern on XRP’s weekly price chart, often associated with strong upward momentum. Some analysts have even set short-term price targets as high as $10, buoyed by optimism surrounding Ripple’s potential to overcome the SEC’s continued challenge.
That market sentiment has been further bolstered by speculation that reduced regulatory pressure could appear with new leadership at the SEC in a possible Trump administration. Investors are anxiously awaiting any change in regulatory tone that might affect the legal fight by Ripple and unlock further growth for XRP. Recent technical analysis flashes targets of $5, $10, $15, and even $20 for XRP amid a combination of bullish price action, rising open interest, and whale accumulation in over-the-counter markets.
XRP’s Future with $8 Billion ETF Inflows
As a sign of increased optimism for XRP’s future, analysts at JPMorgan recently discussed the potential of creating an XRP Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). According to their forecast, between $3 billion and $8 billion in inflows might come into an approved XRP ETF, echoing the early success of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. As the crypto industry moves into a new era post-Gensler, digital assets such as XRP may see liquidity and market adoption because of the pending ETFs targeting XRP and Solana.
As dust settles after Gensler’s ouster, it’s all one can guess if this would finally allow the softening of the tough SEC stance on cryptocurrency and mark an impending victorious closure for Ripple against the regulator. The one sure thing is that the crypto space will be holding its breath while the tides are turning and giving way to a host of new possibilities that come to both Ripple and XRP.
At the time of this writing, the price of the Ripple token is $3.13 USD with a 24-hour trading volume of $13,946,836,987 USD. XRP is down 5.98% in the last 24 hours.
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