Why XRP (Ripple) Is Soaring Today

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) was flying higher on Wednesday. The cryptocurrency was up 10.97% as of 3:45 p.m. ET. The rise comes as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) gained 1.92% and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) gained 2.51%, as of the time of writing.

XRP is gaining as a key legal deadline arrives. Jan. 15 is the final day for the SEC to decide whether to move forward with its case against Ripple, the company behind XRP.

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The SEC is moving forward -- for now

It was revealed today that the SEC will indeed move forward with its case against XRP. A judge ruled in 2023 that the SEC's allegations of XRP being sold as an "unregistered security" were unfounded. The SEC is now appealing the decision. Some spectators believed that given the upcoming change in leadership, the SEC would not move forward and skip its Jan. 15 deadline.

But if the SEC is moving forward, why is XRP skyrocketing today? This seeming contradiction is because a report today confirmed that the incoming SEC leadership under the Trump administration would take a friendlier approach. The incoming team will review ongoing litigation and back off of those cases that do not involve fraud. Although XRP wasn't named outright, it would seem the SEC's appeal may be short-lived.

Inflation data is helping as well

XRP isn't alone in its rise today. The market saw green across the board. That's because new data was released that shows inflation for the period was less than expected. This, more often than not, leads to a boost in investor confidence, especially for riskier assets like crypto.

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Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.