Payments cryptocurrency XRP surged over 27% on Saturday, surpassing the $1 mark for the first time in three years amid ongoing legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and optimism about the changing regulatory landscape.
The token reached $1.27, its highest level since November 2021, according to the data, and its market cap has risen to $63.59 billion. The price of XRP has nearly doubled this week amid rising expectations of a friendlier regulatory environment under President-elect Donald Trump.
The rally comes as the SEC faces mounting legal challenges. On Thursday, a coalition of state attorneys general and the DeFi Education Fund filed a lawsuit against the SEC in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The lawsuit alleges that the regulator overstepped its authority by classifying digital assets as investment contracts similar to stocks and bonds, violating states’ rights to regulate the industry.
This case could significantly impact the SEC’s pending appeal in its case against Ripple Labs, a major driver of XRP’s price increase.
Market sentiment was also supported by expectations that the incoming Trump administration could bring more favorable conditions for the cryptocurrency sector.
“XRP will be a major beneficiary of a friendlier Trump administration, particularly with the likely departure of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler,” the founders of newsletter service LondonCryptoClub wrote. Gensler had been a central figure in the SEC’s legal battles with Ripple Labs, and his exit could ease regulatory pressure on the company and XRP.
Speculations about a possible meeting between Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Trump further fueled optimism.
Another bullish sign could be 21Shares’ recent filing for an XRP ETF, in the vein of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs that already trade on the U.S. exchange. Canary Capital and Bitwise have also filed for XRP ETFs.
*This is not investment advice.