XRP fails to break above $0.50 as former SEC litigator predicts Ripple case could reach Supreme Court

• The SEC vs. Ripple potential showdown at the Supreme Court is likely, says former SEC litigator Ladan Stewart. 
• XRP Ledger calls developers, businesses and investors to build on the blockchain, extending Apex 2024 registration until April 30. 
• XRP price remains below $0.50, failing to breach key resistance. 

Ripple (XRP) price hovers below the key $0.50 level on Thursday after failing at another attempt to break and close above the resistance for the fourth day in a row. 

XRP’s subdued performance – its price has fallen by around 20% in the last seven days – comes amid a broad crypto market correction and as market participants continue to discuss the lingering legal battle between Ripple and the Securities Exchanges Commission (SEC). Former SEC litigator Ladan Stewart said on Wednesday that Ripple is likely to face a Supreme Court showdown with the US financial regulator. 

Daily digest market mover: Ripple, SEC could spar in the Supreme Court 

• Former SEC litigator Ladan Stewart spoke on a panel alongside blockchain lawyers, including Rebecca Rettig of Polygon, according to a Fortune Crypto report on Wednesday. Stewart shared her perspective on the agency’s approach to the blockchain sector, and the SEC’s lawsuits against Ripple and Coinbase. 
• Stewart said that the agency is unlikely to back off from bringing regulatory cases against crypto firms. The former SEC litigator said that the agency’s lawsuit against Ripple is likely to make its way to the Supreme Court. The issue of what constitutes a security remains unsettled and Stewart said that there will be some clarity on this. 
• Ripple secured a partial victory against the regulator in July. However the firm faces massive fines of nearly $2 billion. 
• The SEC is likely to appeal the programmatic sales ruling from 2023 that considers XRP’s secondary market sales on exchanges as “not investment contracts” or not securities transactions. 

Technical analysis: XRP likely to sweep March 2023 lows

Ripple hit its 2023 top of $0.7440 on March 11. Since then, XRP has been in a steady downtrend that seems to have bottomed out this week, with XRP price hovering below resistance at $0.50. The $0.50 level is an important one for XRP holders as the altcoin held steady support at this price for nearly seven months. 

XRP price could deteriorate further, sweeping liquidity at the weekly support at $0.4188, the April 13 low. The March 2023 low of $0.3553 and monthly support at $0.2879 are the other two support levels for XRP in case of an extended correction. 

The Balance of Power (BoP) technical indicator that assesses the relative strength of buyers and sellers is typically used to identify potential trend shifts and reversals in an asset. XRP BoP is negative 0.23, below the zero line. The drop in BoP is in convergence with the decline in XRP price and implies that sellers are dominant in the market. 

Traders waiting on the sideline to buy XRP need to await a trend reversal signal or a divergence between BoP and XRP price. 

XRP/USDT 1-day chart 

A daily candlestick close above the $0.50 level could invalidate the bearish thesis and suggest a recovery in the altcoin. XRP faces resistance at $0.50, $0.53 (the 50% Fibonacci retracement of the decline from April 9 top of $0.64 to April 11 low of $0.41), and the April 9 top of $0.64.