XRP explodes 9% as Ripple vs. SEC battle continues

Key takeaways:

• SEC insists on obtaining Ripple’s internal Slack documentation with mentions of XRP
• Ripple fires back with a similar claim
• XRP daily chart

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – XRP, the native token of Ripple Labs, has managed another bullish day after a setback on August 8.

The money transfer token traded at $0.82 after Tuesday’s London session opening bell, registering a 9% gain. However, the bullish trend is not yet confident, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) looks for new attack angles on the startup.

The law enforcement agency filed a request to view Ripple’s internal Slack correspondence in the recent turn of events. The memos and messages containing the mention of XRP as securities or cryptocurrency, to be exact. James K. Filan, an attorney involved in the case, tweeted the news late on August 9.

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP BREAKING: SEC files emergency motion for a discovery conference regarding Slack communications. Seeks order compelling Ripple to search and produce relevant communications between Ripple employees on Slack.https://t.co/AQ8Av1igoV

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) August 9, 2021

The emergency motion states that Ripple did produce some Slack communication before the said motion, but the agency considers them incomplete. Attorney Jeremy Hogan commented that the governmental agency is trying to work the core angle of the initial problem: define XRP as securities.

In retrospect, the SEC filed the lawsuit in December 2020, accusing Ripple of fraud. The agency claimed that the startup sold $1.3 billion worth of XRP as unregistered securities. However, Ripple built its defense on the premise that XRP is not security at all but a cryptocurrency, just like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

Also read: SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit gets more convoluted with the entry of Binance

Ripple fires back with the same claim

As the lawsuit drags on, the issue of defining XRP’s status becomes more and more essential. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn has ordered SEC to produce internal documentation with mentions of XRP on April 6. Unfortunately, SEC has not yet complied with that order.

If the SEC’s internal documentation mentions XRP as securities, the prosecution might not have a leg to stand on anymore.

Ripple Labs finally filed a request to finally obtain the documents that the Magistrate Judge ordered SEC to hand over.

#XRPCommunity #SECGOV v. #Ripple #XRP BREAKING: Parties tee up deliberative process privilege dispute with respect to documents withheld by the SEC based on the SEC's assertion of the privilege; file joint request for 8 page letters addressing issue. pic.twitter.com/6EZTzYT0hZ

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) August 9, 2021

Mr. Hogan took it upon himself to decipher the request for his followers and replied to one of the questions concerning the tweet above.

Also read: Ripple CEO files motion seeking documents from Binance

XRP daily chart

As the lawsuit is nowhere near its end, XRP adopted an overall bullish momentum with temporary setbacks along the way. The digital asset gained 60 percent since July 21, and the XRP/USD exchange rate reached 0.81 in the Tuesday session.

The relative strength index (RSI; token momentum indicator) stood at a confident value of 67. As a result, the graph moved sideways without crossing into the overbought territory (value over 70). Strong RSI indicates the traders’ confidence in the asset.

Moreover, XRP registered a golden cross on the daily chart on August 1. The formation occurred when the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA-20; blue wave) crossed above the 50-day simple moving average (SMA-50; red line). Thus, it promises future gains for the asset as long as the EMA-20 holds up above the EMA-50.

Also read: Ripple proposes federated sidechains on the XRP ledger

It seems like the current XRP rally has more to do with the recovery wave across the market than with the court proceedings.

The lawsuit currently does not lean in either direction. Instead, both Ripple and SEC are trying to obtain internal documentation from each other to define XRP. SEC is looking for proof to describe it as securities. Ripple, on the other hand, seeks to define it as currency.