Ripple (XRP) price dropped to $2.1 on May 30, struggling to reclaim momentum. However, bulls managed to recover some losses amid broad crypto market fatigue. Bitcoin dropped to $106,000, while Ethereum showed some resilience in hanging on above $2,600. Despite XRP price’s recent rally in April-May, the token has slipped into a tightening range, reflecting investor caution and fading spot volumes.
Derivatives positioning remains muted. XRP’s open interest across top exchanges has declined for four consecutive sessions, mirroring a slowdown in capital inflows across altcoins. Funding rates also remain flat, indicating limited conviction from leveraged traders. Short-term holders appear to be exiting into strength, while long-term investors hold steady.
Yet optimism surrounding institutional adoption continues to build. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formally evaluated WisdomTree’s spot XRP ETF on May 28, reigniting debate around XRP’s regulatory status. The proposed WisdomTree XRP Trust would list on the Cboe BZX Exchange and track XRP prices using the CME CF Ripple-Dollar Reference Rate. Polymarket betting odds assigned an 83% chance of approval, suggesting strong market confidence.
Yet, the Ripple token seems unable to translate market confidence into price performance. Moreover, XRP price, after painting a fakeout from a bullish setup earlier this month, almost invalidated another bullish pattern on May 30.
Bulls Defend Pattern Support, Eye $2.57 Target
XRP price chart shows the token forming another falling wedge pattern. The Ripple token had recently painted a failed breakout from a similar pattern, formed over a significantly longer time. Traders typically consider the pattern a bullish reversal structure. Two descending, converging trendlines representing a series of lower highs and lower lows define the pattern.
While falling wedges often resolve with an upward breakout, confirmation is needed through a sustained move above the upper boundary. On May 30, XRP briefly breached the wedge’s lower trendline but quickly recovered, indicating active defense by bulls at that structural support.
Analysts calculate the projected price target by measuring the height of the wedge at its widest point and projecting it vertically from the anticipated breakout level. This target aligns closely with the 0.786 Fibonacci retracement level and a horizontal resistance near $2.57, creating a confluence zone that traders will closely watch if momentum shifts in favor of buyers.
Before that, the token faces significant dynamic resistance from the 20-day (red), 50-day (purple), and 100-day (blue) exponential moving averages. A sustained push above these levels would signal growing strength, but immediate resistance near $2.37 must flip to support before the pattern target comes into focus.
On the downside, key support rests at the 200-day EMA and the 0.382 Fibonacci level near $2.08. Failure to hold this zone would expose XRP to deeper correction risks, potentially targeting the $1.91 support area. The RSI remains below the midpoint at 42, reflecting weak momentum. Still, bulls retain a structural edge as long as the wedge pattern remains intact.
Ripple’s SEC Standoff Could Shape XRP’s Regulatory Trajectory
Ripple Labs intensified its regulatory offensive with a formal letter to the SEC Crypto Task Force on May 27, 2025, just days after a private meeting with agency officials. The letter, signed by Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty and senior legal staff, argues that fungible crypto assets such as XRP are not securities when traded in secondary markets.
Ripple based its position on Judge Analisa Torres’s 2023 ruling, which determined that XRP itself was not a security and that only some institutional sales constitute investment contracts.
The letter proposed a two-part framework for distinguishing a token from its investment contract. It asserted that a token should be presumed separate unless two conditions are met: material promises from the issuer remain outstanding, and secondary holders retain legal rights to enforce those promises.
Ripple claimed this framework would prevent regulatory overreach and reduce confusion, especially for tokens already circulating freely in the market.
Further, Ripple criticized vague SEC constructs like the “sufficiently decentralized” test, calling it unworkable. Instead, the company proposed a “maturity test” with measurable criteria: a token must have a market capitalization above $1 billion, operate on a permissionless network for over a decade, and lack unilateral issuer control. XRP, with over 13 years of operational history and a market cap ranging between $135 and $149.7 billion, meets all proposed conditions.
This legal momentum coincides with the SEC’s ongoing evaluation of WisdomTree’s spot XRP ETF, part of a wave of institutional filings. Ripple’s growing influence in shaping legislative dialogue positions XRP for deeper integration into regulated markets
