XRP News Today: Ripple Proposes $50 Million SEC Settlement Amid XRP Price Volatility

Ripple is making significant progress in its legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with a proposed $50 million settlement that could bring an end to the long-drawn dispute. This development comes amidst several updates from firms planning to raise funds to purchase XRP and hold it as a treasury asset, sparking discussions among experts about whether this is a strategic move to boost XRP's value or a "pump and dump" tactic aimed at exploiting sidelined traders.

The XRP weekly price chart indicates a mixed outlook for the native token of the XRPLedger. While technical indicators suggest further consolidation, bullish developments surrounding Ripple and the XRPLedger could drive prices higher. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads 50, at the neutral level, and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shows red histogram bars under the neutral line, indicating underlying negative momentum in the XRP price trend. The altcoin faces resistance at a local peak of $2.6549 and could test liquidity at the $2 support, a key psychological level for XRP. If XRP ends its consolidation and confirms an upward trend, it could rally 25% and test resistance at $2.6549. The daily price chart shows XRP in a short-term downward trend, consolidating under the $2.6549 resistance. The RSI reads 40, far below the neutral level, while the MACD flashes its first red histogram bar after a series of green bars in the past week.

To reach the $7 target, XRP would need to enter price discovery and climb towards the 272.2% Fibonacci retracement of the rally from the $0.3823 low to the $3.40 peak. This is possible if the XRP price maintains a sustained upward trend and bullish momentum for the next few weeks, regardless of volatility in altcoins and Bitcoin flash crashes.

Derivatives data from a crypto intelligence platform shows a decline in Open Interest (OI), or the total value of all open contracts in XRP across derivatives exchanges. However, there has been a massive increase in derivatives trade volume and options volume in the last 24 hours. The long/short ratio exceeds 2 on major exchanges, indicating more long bets than short bets and suggesting that derivatives traders expect a rally in XRP. Despite this, over $20 million in long positions have been liquidated in XRP, while less than $2 million in shorts were liquidated, indicating that the market is punishing bulls.

Ripple's progress in the SEC lawsuit, with a proposed $50 million settlement, could support a bullish thesis for XRPLedger and XRP adoption. Additionally, the idea of issuing government bonds for crypto assets like Bitcoin and XRP, proposed by Trump-appointed CFTC Chair Chris Giancarlo, adds to the bullish sentiment. Giancarlo believes that bonds backed by crypto are likely and shared his insights during a discussion at the XRPL Apex 2025 event. Furthermore, the possibility of a bank charter that could allow payment remittance firms like Ripple to get banking licenses is another significant catalyst. Greg Kidd, co-founder of Haka Yaka Ventures and owner of Vast Bank, mentioned working on such a charter at an XRP Las Vegas conference.

Developers at the XRPLedger, led by Ripple CTO David Schwartz, announced plans to launch an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain in Q2 2025. This sidechain would allow Ethereum smart contracts to enter the XRPLedger ecosystem, integrating the low-cost transaction capabilities of XRP’s native blockchain with the DeFi ecosystem of apps. The chain is currently being tested, with further testing and validator partnerships expected in Q2 2025. A bridge will connect the sidechain to XRP’s native blockchain, and a version of the altcoin, wrapped in XRP, will be the native gas token for the EVM sidechain. This technical development is likely the most important driver of utility and adoption for the Ledger and XRP, as Ripple continues to make strides through its stablecoin partnerships and boosts the Ledger’s ecosystem.

Despite the bullish developments, VanEck’s Head of Digital Assets, Matthew Sigel, warns XRP traders to exercise caution. Sigel believes that low-cap Nasdaq companies claiming they’ll buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of altcoins like XRP could be "pump and dump" schemes. These schemes aim to inflate prices and benefit from the liquidity, leaving retail traders with large-scale losses. According to Sigel, announcements from firms like VivoPower and Webus could be temporary catalysts for XRP, but whether these firms will raise the funds and purchase the tokens to hold in their treasuries remains uncertain.