Despite the crypto market’s downturn this week, XRP has outperformed most of its peers by reaching its highest level since last week. Bitcoin fell below $30,000 on Monday, dragging down the rest of the market. Only XRP and Stellar (XLM) managed to post gains above 5% among the top 25 cryptocurrencies.
According to CoinGecko data, XRP rose 6.2% in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.78, while XLM jumped 9.6% overnight. The reason for XRP’s rally was the latest progress in the legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as a judge ordered them to set dates for a potential settlement conference.
Ripple won a significant victory on July 13 when the court rejected some of the SEC’s allegations that XRP was a security. XRP has increased nearly 65% on a weekly basis, following the historic court decision in favor of Ripple.
However, crypto prices declined over the weekend, as Bitcoin (BTC) approached its $30,000 support and Ethereum (ETH) struggled to stay above $2,000.
SEC and Ripple Potential Settlement Meeting
On Monday, Judge Analisa Torres, who issued the groundbreaking ruling, referred the case to District Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn for general pretrial proceedings, according to documents shared by Fox journalist Elanor Terrett.
Magistrate Netburn will preside over settlement conferences and make recommendations to the judge for a final verdict. She will also handle pretrial motions and discovery disputes.
Netburn suggested that the two sides hold a settlement conference “if they believe it would be productive at this time.” The news raised hopes that the risk of an appeal by the securities regulator against the court’s decision might be reduced.
Furthermore, Ripple has recently invested in the artificial intelligence and metaverse sectors, boosting its ecosystem and positive sentiment.
Ripple Labs participated in a $54 million Series A funding round for Futureverse, a metaverse project that integrates the XRP Ledger into its gaming-focused blockchain The Root Network, and supports the use of XRP.
