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XRP is having one huge price pump of 12% in the last 24 hours, driven by rumors of a potential settlement deal between Ripple and the SEC. This takes XRP above $0.60 for the first time since April. The cryptocurrency has been displaying absolutely striking performance this week and has surged by 39%. At press time, XRP was trading at $0.6123,,a 12.61% surge from the intra-day low of $0.5435.
During the rally, XRP market capitalization and 24-hour trading volume surged by 12.67% and 45.28% respectively to $34,178,563,620 and $3,505,586,765.
According to market intelligence platform Santiment, wallets with 100,000 or more XRP coins have risen to hold 51.59 billion XRP—an all-time high. The accumulation by these huge holders, often referred to as whales and sharks, is considered a very bullish signal showing huge confidence among some major investors.
New on-chain statistics signaled that Ripple effectuated a major transfer amounting to 150 million XRP, pegged at $87.49 million, into an unknown address. Fueling more speculation: this could hint at an upcoming settlement with the SEC.
The address has been tied to other mega deals in the past, and this shows that Ripple is strategically positioned to benefit from the increased momentum. Moreover, a whopping 45.07 million XRP were moved to two exchanges, Bitstamp and Bitso, from yet another well-known whale address.
Such large whale activities often signal major moves that are about to happen and will likely keep the markets bullish for a while.
Technical analysis shows that a bullish pennant pattern is in the making on XRP's long-term price chart. This pattern, which has been forming for seven years now, is considered a very strong signal that a breakout is coming.
Crypto trader Crypto Michael has indicated this formation, suggesting that XRP may be on the verge of one of the most significant breakouts in crypto history.
The price of XRP has been consolidating gains made below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $0.5330 swing low to the $0.5925 high. While doing so, this resistance validated $0.5550 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average, which are now holding strong support for price and signals of a possible move higher in the near term.
Open interest in XRP futures has been surging massively doubling over the past week. According to CoinGlass, data for XRP futures added up to more than $780 million in bets as opposed to $420 million on July 9. Increased open interest, coupled with huge trading volumes, suggests high anticipation of further future price volatility.
More than 60% of newly opened XRP futures positions are long, which shows that more participants bet on increasing prices. Rising open interest and trading volumes mean that new money is coming into the market, adding to XRP's bullish scenario.
Concurrently, the general market sentiment toward XRP remains quite positive, as many traders and analysts are now increasingly optimistic about future price movements. Moreover, a noted crypto commentator, Amonyx, has recently predicted that XRP will hit a new all-time high this cycle, spurred by the current bullish momentum and conditions in the market.
Besides, a Ripple SEC settlement keeps being the most significant price driver for XRP on speculation. Pro-Ripple lawyers have also given their insight into the timing of the final judgment that is expected by the end of July or early August.
