The XRP price has gone parabolic and is on track for the third consecutive weekly gain as investors wait for the next SEC leader. Ripple jumped to a high of $1.6270, its highest level since May 2021.
Ripple cheers regulatory wins
Crypto pundits are generally bullish on the Ripple price as Donald Trump prepares to make his decision on the next SEC chair. According to Bloomberg, he is leaning towards Paul Atkins, a highly regarded regulator popular among crypto enthusiasts.
The next chairman is expected to be more friendly to the crypto industry. He will be significantly different from Gary Gensler, who has been highly confrontational to the industry. Recall that in his tenure, he sued several companies, including Ripple Labs, Uniswap, Coinbase, Kraken, and Immutable.
The XRP price also jumped after Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer, won against a US department for sanctions. The three judges noted that it was wrong to sanction a smart contract in a major victory for the company and Coinbase, which funded the lawsuit.
This ruling means that crypto companies can fight against regulators and win. Ripple Labs has had two victories against the SEC. In the first one, a judge ruled that XRP was not a security, and in the second one, it was ordered to pay $250 million instead of the $2 billion that the SEC was seeking. Analysts expect the next SEC leadership to do away with the appeal.
A clear regulatory environment will be good for Ripple. For one, it could see a spot XRP ETF approval as soon as the first half of the year. It may also allow Ripple to launch its Initial Public Offering in the US.
Crypto analyst sees XRP price soaring to $16
One crypto analyst believes that the XRP coin price will jump to $16 in the coming months. That would be a 966% increase from the current price. The analyst cited its past history of consolidation followed by big breakouts. The first major consolidation happened in 2017 when the coin made a strong breakout. He believes that the current breakout could be its biggest in years.
Turning to the weekly chart, we see that the Ripple price needs to clear key barriers to get to $16. The first major barrier is the 2021 high of $1.98, which is about 32% above the current level. That breakout is highly possible now that the coin has risen above $1.4360, its highest swing in September 2021.
After that breakout, it will need to jump by 80% to retest its all-time high of $3.5. The coin will need to move above $5, $10, and $15. While these movements are possible, odds are that they will not happen in the ongoing crypto bull run.
