The XRP price remained in a consolidation phase as investors waited for the next key catalyst. It was trading at $0.4500, which was slightly above this week’s low of 0.42. Ripple has crashed by more than 18% this week, giving it a combined market cap of more than $22.4 billion.
What next for Ripple?
Ripple has been in the spotlight recently for two main reasons. First, investors are still focusing on the ongoing SEC vs Ripple case in the US. The SEC filed the lawsuit in December 2020 alleging that Ripple raised capital without following the law. Ripple has rejected this allegation vehemently.
It is still too early to determine how the judge will rule. However, some investors believe that Ripple has defended itself well, and raised the possibility of winning. They cite the recent victory where the judge forced the SEC to provide William Hinman’s documents. These documents include a speech in which he opined that XRP was not a security.
In addition, analysts believe that the SEC has an extremely high bar when it comes to proving intent that Ripple Labs and its executives hard. Most importantly, any ruling will likely be positive for XRP since it will continue operating.
Second, the XRP price remained in a tight range as investors focused on the upcoming smart contract capabilities in its ecosystem. The upgrade will introduce EVM-compatible products that will make it possible for developers to create applications. It is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2022.
XRP price prediction
The four-hour Heiken Ashi chart shows that Ripple has been in a bearish trend recently. As it dropped, Ripple formed a head and shoulders pattern that is shown in red. In price action analysis, this pattern is usually a bearish sign, The neckline of the pattern was at $0.4393. It remains below the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the MACD has moved below the neutral level.
Therefore, there is a likelihood that Ripple will continue falling as sellers target the key level at $0.3533. This price is about 20% below the current level. A move above the resistance point at $0.46 will invalidate this view.
