- XRP price hit a high of $0.5590 on Thursday as Bitcoin’s price rally fueled gains in top altcoins.
- XRP trade volume nearly doubled this week, climbing to 1.46 billion on February 15.
- Pro-Ripple attorney condemns the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple in response to Chair Gary Gensler’s comments on crypto.
XRP price hit a peak of $0.5590, early on Thursday. Altcoins like XRP noted gains as Bitcoin price rallied past resistance to $52,500. Bitcoin’s bull run ushered a marketwide recovery in altcoin prices.
Apart from the Bitcoin-effect, XRP on-chain activity likely also helped catalyze the recent gains alongside other developments in the Ripple ecosystem.
Daily Digest Market Movers: XRP on-chain metrics show surge in activity
- According to data from crypto intelligence tracker, Santiment, the Volume in XRP nearly doubled from 578.41 million on February 10 to 1.48 billion on February 15. The surge in Volume implies the demand and relevance of XRP has increased among market participants.
![XRP](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/miscelaneous/XRP%20Ledger%20(XRP)%20[11.00.13,%2015%20Feb,%202024]-638435743135462047.png)
XRP Volume. Source: Santiment
- Ripple recently revealed its plans to expand into the custody business with its acquisition of Standard Custody. As the payment giant pivots from its cross-border payment remittance business and expands to related infrastructure services for financial firms, it is likely to boost the demand for XRPLedger’s services. Find out more about it here.
- Bitcoin price rallied to a peak of $52,500 on Thursday, catalyzing a rally in altcoins in the ecosystem. XRP price climbed to a peak of $0.5590, alongside BTC.
Technical Analysis: XRP price rallies towards its $0.6000 target
XRP price is currently in an uptrend. The altcoin is rallying towards its $0.6000 target, a psychologically important level for the asset. XRP price faces resistance at its 50% Fibonacci Retracement level of the decline from the 2024 peak of $0.6405 to its January low, at $0.5629.
XRP price’s rally to $0.6000 represents a climb of over 10%. The green bars on the Moving Average Convergence/ Divergence (MACD) and Awesome Oscillator (AO) indicators, suggest that XRP price uptrend is intact and there is positive momentum.
![XRP](https://editorial.fxstreet.com/miscelaneous/XRPUSDT_2024-02-15_11-35-10-638435743856991743.png)
XRP/USDT 1-day chart
A daily candlestick close below the $0.5000 level could invalidate the bullish thesis and signal a sweep of the January low at $0.4853 before another possible XRP price recovery.
CRYPTO ETF FAQS
What is an ETF?
An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment vehicle or an index that tracks the price of an underlying asset. ETFs can not only track a single asset, but a group of assets and sectors. For example, a Bitcoin ETF tracks Bitcoin’s price. ETF is a tool used by investors to gain exposure to a certain asset.
Is Bitcoin futures ETF approved?
Yes. The first Bitcoin futures ETF in the US was approved by the US Securities & Exchange Commission in October 2021. A total of seven Bitcoin futures ETFs have been approved, with more than 20 still waiting for the regulator’s permission. The SEC says that the cryptocurrency industry is new and subject to manipulation, which is why it has been delaying crypto-related futures ETFs for the last few years.
Is Bitcoin spot ETF approved?
Bitcoin spot ETF has been approved outside the US, but the SEC is yet to approve one in the country. After BlackRock filed for a Bitcoin spot ETF on June 15, the interest surrounding crypto ETFs has been renewed. Grayscale – whose application for a Bitcoin spot ETF was initially rejected by the SEC – got a victory in court, forcing the US regulator to review its proposal again. The SEC’s loss in this lawsuit has fueled hopes that a Bitcoin spot ETF might be approved by the end of the year.