XRP climbs to $2.40 as Ripple advances in SEC case and partners with UAE’s Al Ansari Exchange, while derivatives markets signal mixed trader sentiment.
XRP reached $2.40 on April 24 after a New York court ordered the SEC to disclose internal crypto guidance, while Ripple’s new UAE remittance deal fueled institutional demand.
Regulatory Breakthrough Fuels Rally
XRP’s 25% weekly surge accelerated after Judge Analisa Torres ruled on 19 April 2024 that the SEC must release internal documents about its cryptocurrency classification standards. This development in Ripple’s three-year legal battle sparked speculation about potential settlement prospects, with court documents revealing at least eight SEC meetings discussing Ethereum’s regulatory status.
Middle East Expansion Drives Adoption
Al Ansari Exchange’s integration of RippleNet for UAE-Philippines remittances marks the first major MENA implementation since Ripple’s 2023 expansion roadmap. The partnership could process $300M annually according to company filings, leveraging XRP’s 3-second settlement times to undercut traditional SWIFT transfers.
Market Signals Show Divided Sentiment
While futures open interest reached $4.3B on Binance, spot trading volume remains 22% below March peaks according to CryptoCompare. Santiment data reveals whales moved 480M XRP this week, but network activity declined 15% from Q1 averages – a divergence analysts at AMBCrypto attribute to derivatives traders frontrunning retail investors.
Technical Hurdles and Expert Views
The token faces strong resistance at $2.50, a level untouched since November 2023. CoinMetrics’ volatility analysis suggests XRP is stabilizing as an institutional bridge currency, though critics note its 0.3% DeFi market share pales next to Ethereum’s 58%. ‘XRP’s value proposition remains tied to cross-border settlements, not smart contracts,’ said DARMA Capital analyst Cynthia Wu.
Historical Precedents and Market Cycles
XRP’s current surge echoes its 120% July 2023 rally following Ripple’s partial court victory, though that gain erased within weeks. The token last traded above $3 during December 2017’s crypto bubble, when Ripple signed 23 banking partners in six months. Market technicians warn the 2021 pattern – where XRP underperformed BTC by 58% post-rally – could repeat without sustained institutional demand.
Remittance innovations have historically driven regional crypto adoption spikes, exemplified by El Salvador’s 2021 Bitcoin integration and Nigeria’s 300% stablecoin growth after 2022’s cash shortage. Ripple’s UAE push follows MoneyGram’s 2020 exit from the partnership, underscoring the sector’s trial-and-error evolution.
