The past few weeks have been quite eventful for Ripple and its native token, XRP. In this article, well review the most recent updates and analyze the assets price dynamics. 

Is the Legal Battle Against the SEC Over?

The lawsuit between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been among the hottest topics in the crypto industry for years. Over the past several months there were numerous developments which brought the case closer to its long-anticipated final. 

Long story short, in March, Ripples CEO claimed that the SEC had dropped the appeal against the company. Earlier this month, the two sides shook hands on a $50 million settlement, which would mean the official end of the tussle if the judge on the case approves it. 

This represents a significant reduction from the $125 million fine that Ripple was previously ordered to pay for allegedly breaking certain securities laws. 

The XRP Army celebrated the latest move, but some members of the agency seemed unhappy. SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, for instance, argued that this ruling undermines the previous one and discredits the watchdogs enforcement program.  

The settlement joins a line of dismissals that collectively erode the credibility of our lawyers in court who are being asked to take legal positions today contrary to the ones taken just months ago. And it stands in defiant contravention of the doctrine of (the) regularity of government affairs, she added.

XRP ETF on the Way?

The introduction of the first spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States has been a mission for multiple well-known companies, including Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, WisdomTree, and others. 

Not long ago, the SEC delayed its decision on Bitwises application, extending the period to June 17. The community has now shifted its attention toward July 2, which marks the final deadline for the SECs decision on Grayscales proposal to convert its Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC), which includes XRP, among other cryptocurrencies, into a spot ETF.

The launch of such a financial vehicle will give investors additional options to gain exposure to Ripples cross-border token, which might positively impact its price. According to Polymarket, the odds of the product seeing the light of day before the end of the year are close to 80%.

While a spot version is still not live in the US, Teucrium and ProShares recently received the green light to launch futures-based XRP ETFs in the worlds biggest economy. Those curious to check all developments on that front can take a look at our detailed article here. 

RLUSD Gains Traction

Ripple made the headlines last year when it announced its plans to design a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the American dollar. The product, dubbed RLUSD, went live in mid-December and was initially embraced by leading crypto exchanges such as Uphold, Bitso, Bitstamp, Moonpay, and more. 

In the following months, other popular industry players followed suit. For instance, Kraken allowed trading services with RLUSD in April. 

Most recently, the US-based Gemini also hopped on the bandwagon. The exchange, led by the Winklevoss twins, enabled deposits and withdrawals approximately a week ago. 

While RLUSD has made some serious progress in recent months, it still lags behind the big names in the niche. As of this writing, it has a market capitalization of just north of $315 million, while the leaders, USDT and USDC, have $150 billion and $60 billion, respectively. 

XRP Price Outlook

Ripples native cryptocurrency was at the forefront of gains yesterday (May 12), with its price soaring to a two-month peak of almost $2.70. In the following hours, it retraced to the current $2.54 (per CoinGeckos data).

Its impressive surge caught the eye of multiple analysts, some of whom envisioned a further upswing in the short term. The X user, Captain Faibik, predicted a pump to $5, citing a falling wedge pattern breakout. 

Crypto Patel reminded that XRP has surpassed the $2 support zone. If price holds above this level, we could see a move toward $3.28 and eventually $10+, they added. 

Meanwhile, Ali Martinez estimated that on-chain data shows XRP has no major resistance clusters ahead, suggesting the up only path could be in play.