XRP (CRYPTO: CRP) has been rising lately. As of this writing, it was at US$0.815, which was up 1.36% from the previous day. That’s not a massive uptrend, but XRP has been outperforming the broader crypto market for the entire year. On Monday at 12 EDT, it had fallen only 5% for the year, compared to 23% for Ether and 13% for Bitcoin.
If XRP can keep up its positive momentum, then it may be poised to hit $1. That is a price target that many XRP holders are aiming to hit. Unlike Bitcoin and Ether, XRP has never retaken and surpassed its 2017 highs. If it hit $1, it would be over halfway to that milestone. In this article, I will explore one big reason why XRP could take $1 and then deliver continued gains from that point onward.
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Ripple appears poised to win its lawsuit
One big reason why XRP could rally this year is because Ripple Labs–the developers of XRP–appear poised to win the SEC lawsuit they’re embroiled in. Recently, the SEC sued Ripple, alleging that it had done an illegal securities registration by selling XRP tokens to the public. Since the lawsuit began, Ripple has racked up win after win, including:
- Finding records of an SEC official saying that cryptocurrencies aren’t securities
- Getting that testimony approved for discovery
- Thwarting numerous delay tactics by the SEC
Collectively, these little victories indicate that Ripple will be free to use all of the evidence it hopes to use in court. That’s important because some of it is truly damaging to the SEC. The quote by the SEC official saying that cryptocurrencies aren’t securities is particularly helpful to Ripple, because it’s someone from the other side confirming exactly what Ripple is saying.
Additionally, there is perhaps some reason for optimism that the judge is sympathetic to Ripple’s case. She has granted Ripple many of the motions it hoped to have passed, and that could indicate a favourable ruling to come if this thing goes all the way to trial.
How that could benefit XRP
A victory by Ripple Labs in the SEC lawsuit would most likely be bullish for XRP. First of all, it would create positive publicity that could generate interest in XRP on its own. Second, it would improve XRP’s actual use case in the market.
Although cryptocurrencies are decentralized in and of themselves, they do depend on their sponsor organizations for things like:
- Blockchain upgrades
- Proprietary technologies like RippleNet
- Generating publicity
- And more
If Ripple wins its lawsuit then it will be free to focus on doing these kinds of tasks for the XRP community. That in turn could drive positive momentum in Ripple’s price. Free from the burden of registering all future XRP tokens with the SEC, Ripple Labs will have more free time to recruit vendors for its payment network, develop the blockchain, and more. With this support, XRP will be able to truly thrive. Were the SEC to win, that might not be the case, as Ripple Labs would be weighed down with regulatory and financial burdens.
