XRP hovers around $0.50, SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit could make it to the Supreme Court

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

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

Ripple is likely to face a Supreme Court showdown with the US financial regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple has been criticized by several crypto proponents. The regulator’s controversial approach was discussed at a panel at Columbia Business School. 

Former SEC litigator Ladan Stewart opened up about the agency’s lawsuit against Ripple and the regulator’s approach to the blockchain sector. 

Daily digest market mover: Ripple and SEC could spar in the Supreme Court, says former SEC regulator 

• 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, SEC’s lawsuits against Ripple and Coinbase. 
• Stewart confirmed that the agency is unlikely to back off of 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 definitive sort of clarity on this. 
• Ripple secured a partial victory against the regulator in July, however the firm faces massive fines, nearly $2 billion (according to CLO Stuart Alderoty). 
• 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 state of decline. The altcoin is rangebound below resistance at $0.50 this week. 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.