SEC Appeals Ripple Ruling as XRP Whales Transfer 153M Coins

TLDR

• XRP whales moved 153 million coins amid SEC appeal in Ripple lawsuit
• SEC filed notice of appeal against Judge Torres’ final judgment
• Three large XRP transactions occurred, including dumps to exchanges
• XRP price dropped slightly, with declining trading volume and futures interest
• Speculation remains about Ripple potentially filing a cross-appeal

On Friday, the cryptocurrency world saw significant developments in the ongoing Ripple vs SEC lawsuit, coupled with large-scale movements of XRP coins by whale investors.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a notice of appeal against Judge Analisa Torres’ final judgment in the Ripple case, reigniting tensions in the XRP community.

At the same time, blockchain data revealed that XRP whales transferred a staggering 153 million coins, worth over $80 million.

The SEC’s appeal comes as a setback for Ripple and XRP supporters, who had celebrated Judge Torres’ earlier ruling that XRP sales on exchanges did not constitute investment contracts.

The appeal states that the SEC “hereby respectfully appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from the final judgment entered by this Court on August 7, 2024.”

This move has sparked concerns among investors, as it prolongs the legal battle between the SEC and Ripple.

Coinciding with the SEC’s appeal, blockchain transaction tracker Whale Alert reported three significant XRP transactions over the past day.

Two of these transactions involved transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, while the third was between unknown wallets.

XRP Price on CoinGecko

A notable whale address, identified as …Rzn, moved 30.38 million XRP (worth $15.99 million) to Bitso and 19.22 million XRP (worth $10.12 million) to Bitstamp. Another wallet, r9s…nxL, transferred 104.38 million XRP (valued at $54.66 million) to a new unknown wallet.

These large-scale movements have fueled speculation within the crypto community about potential market impacts.

Some investors worry that the transfers to exchanges could signal upcoming selling pressure on XRP. However, it’s important to note that whale movements don’t always directly correlate with immediate price actions.

The timing of these events has not gone unnoticed. Pro-XRP attorney Bill Morgan pointed out on social media that the SEC’s appeal comes “just at the start of the last bull run and now files an Appeal on the anticipated eve of another bull run.”

This observation highlights the potential impact of legal proceedings on market cycles and investor sentiment.

In response to these developments, XRP’s price experienced a slight decline of about 1%, trading at $0.5267 at the time of reporting.

The coin’s trading volume also saw a significant drop of 33%, falling to $1.96 billion over the past day. This decrease in trading activity suggests a cautious approach from investors in light of the recent events.

Data from Coinglass indicated a cooling of investor interest, with XRP futures open interest declining by 7% to $679.21 million.

The derivatives volume also saw a substantial decrease of 42%, dropping to $2.53 billion. These figures point to a general sense of uncertainty in the market following the SEC’s appeal and the whale movements.

Despite the bearish indicators, some in the XRP community remain optimistic. There’s speculation that Ripple might file a cross-appeal, though the details of such a move remain unclear.

It’s worth noting that the SEC has not yet filed Form C with the Second Circuit, which would provide more specific information about the aspects of the judgment they are appealing.