XRP on fire! It has increased 15% over the past day and is currently priced at $2.55 as of the afternoon of March 19. This rally started with hopes that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would soon drop its appeal against Ripple. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse took to Twitter recently to spill the beans on this awesome news. Technical analysis further supports this bullish outlook, with XRP confirming a bull flag pattern on the four-hour chart.
Positive XRP sentiment illuminated the derivatives space. We’ve been observing large short position liquidations going on. This confluence of factors would indicate a likely retest of the $2.80 level in the not-too-distant future.
Technical Indicators Point to Further Gains
XRP's price action has confirmed a bull flag pattern on the four-hour chart after closing above the upper boundary of the flag at $2.30. The pole’s length indicates a profit target of up to $2.80. Right now, XRP is back down to $2.30 but predicted to go up to $2.80.
The relative strength index (RSI) skyrocketed into the overbought territory in the past 24 hours. It leapt from a 35 to an astounding 74. This is an initiation of a big bullish momentum strength on XRP. Moreover, XRP has traded 32% above its local low of $1.89 reached on March 11, further solidifying the positive trend.
Listen to the full episode to find out why XRP’s 8-hour funding rates bounced from -0.0077% on March 18 to 0.0018% on March 19! This indicates greater confidence and risk appetite as traders, overall, are more willing to hold long positions.
Garlinghouse's Statement Amplifies Bullish Sentiment
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s comments over the weekend were the latest catalyst for the bullish vibes. Garlinghouse expressed confidence that the SEC is going to lose its appeal against Ripple. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse sees this as a huge win for Ripple – and for crypto overall.
Ripple’s long legal fight with the SEC began in late December 2020. In August 2024, Ripple won a small but significant victory when a federal judge ordered that the company was liable only for $125 million. This was a vast improvement over the SEC’s original ask for $2 billion for unregistered securities sales to institutional investors.
Derivatives Market Reacts with Short Liquidations
The impulse that pumped XRP’s price has been the source of massive liquidations across the derivatives market. The scope of these liquidations is similar to the situation of March 3. On that day alone, $46 million in short XRP positions were liquidated. This was around the same time that retail prices saw a 39% spike from $2.17 to a four-week high of $3.02.
The latest wave of liquidations plays even more into the bullish momentum. It further suggests a large percentage that traders were surprised by the unexpected price spike.
