Why is XRP Price Not Rallying after $50M SEC Settlement?

XRP price is up nearly 10% today and trades at $2.30. Despite the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple’s $50 million settlement, the token has failed to rally. Why? Will XRP hit the $3 mark?

XRP Price Remains Flat After Ripple’s $50M Settlement with SEC

On May 8, XRP price soared nearly 10%, accompanying Bitcoin (BTC), which smashed through the roof and hit $104k. Interestingly, Ripple and the SEC inked a $50M settlement yesterday, but the price failed to move. Why? It is interesting to see the conclusion of the long-awaited SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit not have an outsized impact on the price of XRP. In fact, the token is down 1.08% at the time of writing today.

The main reason for this flat price action of XRP can be attributed to the first-mover advantage of Bitcoin. Since everybody is focused on BTC and it reclaiming the $100k level, many people remain sidelined on altcoins, including XRP. So, XRP price will likely take a breather before it rips to the upside.

XRP Price Prediction: What’s Next?

On the daily chart, XRP price created a bullish engulfing candle due to the 10% rally noted on May 8. This marks the exit of the token from a multi-month declining channel that saw the token drop from $3.40 to $1.60. However, the recovery since the aforementioned swing low has been stellar. 

With a daily candelstick closing above the channel’s upper trendline, XRP price will attempt to scale higher. The key levels to watch include the 23.60% Fibonacci level at $2.70, followed by $3.67 and $4.59. While a target above $4.59 is exaggerated as of now, investors should pay attention to it regardless. 

While the channel breakout is bullish, the Supertrend indicator is yet to flip bullish. This will happen if XRP flips $2.35 resistance level into a support floor.

The daily chart shows the MACD indicator has remained bullish since its bullish crossover in early April. Due to the recent volatility, there have been a few false signals, but this metric remains optimistic and supports a potential rally for XRP.

On the flip side, a breakdown of the $2 support level will create a lower low and hint at a correction due to the breakout of bullish market structure for the XRP price. In such a case, investors need to pay attention to the $1.79 support level that has previously protected the price from sliding lower.

Open Interest Spikes Amid Growing Bullish Sentiment

According to Coinglass data, the XRP Open Interest hit $4.23 billion, the highest since March 4. However, there’s significant room for growth compared to the all-time high at $7.86 billion.

Additionally, the XRP OI weighted funding rate spikes to 0.0115%, reflecting a growth in bullish trades. This adds the possibility of a leverage-pushed XRP price rally. 

In the final verdict, the SEC is asked to dissolve the injunction imposed over Ripple and release the seized $125 million escrow payment. Out of the $125 million, the SEC will acquire $50 million for settlement as a final payment. This is a bullish development for XRP and will catalyze a massive rally for the token’s price when Bitcoin’s rally cools down.