XRP’s (XRP) price extended its gains on March 9, rising around 1.5% to $0.40, despite a general downturn in the cryptocurrency market.
XRP price four-day winning streak
The rally in the XRP/USD pair started on March 5 with the XRP market capitalization gaining over 10% in the past four days.
In contrast, the entire crypto market capitalization has dropped by about 5% in the same period, with top coins Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) losing 4.5% and 4%, respectively.
Ripple scores early win versus SEC
XRP’s gains appear as investors pin their hopes on Ripple winning its long-running courtroom battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
On March 6, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres issued a ruling on motions filed by Ripple and the SEC to exclude the comments of expert witnesses from the upcoming summary judgment. She approved and denied the motions in part, underscoring no clear winner and loser in the matter.
However, removing the so-called “Expert No. 1,” Patrick Doody, whom the SEC roped as its primary witness to testify about the perceptions of a reasonable XRP purchaser, led XRP market participants to believe that Ripple may end up winning the lawsuit.
@SECGov VS. @Ripple . Judge Torres excludes witness #1 witness Patrick Doody (expert hired to analyze our expectations as #XRPHolders ) . How will the SEC prove that we expected a profit if Doody is excluded? Don’t sleep on this ruling, this is a big deal. #XRP
— RippleEffect (@CommonsenseXRP) March 7, 2023
In other words, the SEC’s argument that Ripple sold XRP as an unregistered security to gullible investors may fall flat.
As Cointelegraph reported in January, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that he expects the lawsuit to conclude “in the coming single digit months.”
35% XRP price rally ahead?
From a technical perspective, XRP’s price may risk declining in the coming weeks as it retests a multi-month descending trendline as resistance.
The trendline has served as a capitulation point for traders since April 2021, which raises the possibility of sending XRP’s price lower in the current scenario. A successful pullback would risk pushing XRP toward $0.30, a more recent support level down 20% from current price levels.
Related: Community urges Coinbase to relist XRP as CEO fights for staking
Conversely, a breakout above the trendline may result in XRP’s price rallying toward its 200-3D exponential moving average (200-3D EMA; the blue wave) near $0.50, up 35% from current price levels, by April 2023.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.