XRP Whales Move Massive Coin Amounts as SEC Appeals Ripple Ruling

In a significant development for the XRP community, large-scale holders, known as “whales,” transferred over 153 million XRP coins on Friday. This flurry of activity coincided with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing a notice of appeal against Judge Analisa Torres’ recent ruling in the ongoing Ripple lawsuit. The timing of these events has sparked intense speculation and discussion among crypto investors and analysts.

Blockchain transaction tracker Whale Alert reported three major XRP transactions within the past 24 hours. Two of these transfers involved moving funds to cryptocurrency exchanges, while the third was between unidentified wallets. Specifically, a well-known whale address sent 30.38 million XRP (valued at $15.99 million) to Bitso and 19.22 million XRP ($10.12 million) to Bitstamp. Additionally, another address transferred a whopping 104.38 million XRP ($54.66 million) to a new unknown wallet.

These large-scale movements have drawn significant attention, especially in light of the SEC’s appeal filing. The regulatory body is challenging Judge Torres’ final judgment in the XRP lawsuit, which was initially seen as a partial victory for Ripple. This appeal has the potential to prolong the legal battle and create further uncertainty in the XRP market.

The crypto community’s reaction has been swift, with many expressing concern over the timing of the SEC’s move. Pro-XRP attorney Bill Morgan highlighted how this appeal comes just as the market was anticipating another potential bull run, drawing parallels to the SEC’s initial lawsuit filing at the start of the previous bull market.

XRP’s price has felt the impact of these developments, showing a slight decline of about 1% at the time of reporting. The token is currently trading at $0.5267, having fluctuated between $0.5101 and $0.5386 over the past day. Trading volume has also seen a significant drop, falling 33% to $1.96 billion in the last 24 hours.

Further data from Coinglass indicates waning investor interest, with XRP futures open interest declining by 7% to $679.21 million. The derivatives volume has also taken a substantial hit, plummeting 42% to $2.53 billion.

Despite these challenges, some in the XRP community remain optimistic. There’s speculation that Ripple may file a cross-appeal, though the exact nature of the SEC’s appeal remains unclear until they file the more detailed Form C with the Second Circuit Court.

As the legal saga continues to unfold, the XRP market remains in a state of flux. Investors and enthusiasts alike are closely monitoring these developments, understanding that each twist in the Ripple vs SEC case could have significant implications for XRP’s future and the broader cryptocurrency landscape.