XRP News Today: Whale Activity and Court Countdown Fuel XRP Surge; BTC at $107k

XRP Soars on Market Optimism as Court Ruling Looms

XRP spiked on Monday, June 16, as investors awaited a crucial court ruling in the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple case. The token struck a session high of $2.3376 in hopes of Judge Analisa Torres granting Ripple and the SEC a favorable indicative ruling on settlement terms.

The parties filed the second joint motion on June 12. Settlement terms include vacating the injunction prohibiting XRP sales to institutional investors and reducing the $125 million penalty. Judge Torres rejected the first motion in May. Judge Torres also found that the motion failed to argue the settlement served the public and institutional investors.

The ruling is a crucial step toward resolving the case. If Judge Torres agrees to the settlement terms, the SEC and Ripple would withdraw their appeals, ending the case.

Market intelligence platform Santiment highlighted market sentiment toward XRP, stating:

“The amount of interacting XRP addresses has averaged over 295K per day over the past week. Its normal daily average over the past 3 months was approximately 35-40K. Additionally, there are now over 2,700 whale & shark wallets holding at least 1M XRP for the first time in the asset’s 12+ year history.”

While a court ruling could come at any time, pro-crypto lawyer Fred Rispoli expects to hear from Judge Torres within two weeks of the filing.

Why Is the Settlement So Crucial?

As part of the settlement agreement, Ripple agreed to withdraw its cross-appeal and, importantly, the SEC would drop its appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling. An end to the appeal would legally reinforce Judge Torres’ 2023 ruling that programmatic sales of XRP did not satisfy the third prong of the Howey Test. A resolution could open the door to XRP-spot ETF approvals, potentially driving XRP to new highs.

XRP Price Outlook: Court Rulings and ETF News

XRP rallied 3.25% on June 16, following Sunday’s 1.18% gain, closing at $2.2374. The token outperformed the broader market, which advanced 0.80%, lifting the total crypto market cap to $2.27 trillion.

The near-term XRP price trajectory hinges on Judge Torres’ ruling and ETF-related news. A breakout above the June 16 high of $2.3376 could pave the way to retesting $2.50 and the May 12 high of $2.6553. However, a break below $2.2 may bring the 200-day EMA into play.

For a deeper dive, see our full XRP forecast here.

Bitcoin Advances as Israel-Iran Truce Hopes Boost Risk Sentiment

While XRP rallied, bitcoin (BTC) advanced on rising hopes of a swift end to the Israel-Iran conflict. Despite four days of attacks, there were reportedly no disruptions to oil supply, easing fears of a potential spike in oil-driven inflationary pressures, which could impact central bank policy easing goals.

WTI crude oil slid 2.17% on June 16, fueling demand for risk assets. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed the June 16 session up 1.52%, boosting  market appetite for  BTC and the broader crypto market.

US BTC-Spot ETF Extends Inflow Streak, Signaling a BTC Breakout

Easing concerns about a prolonged Israel-Iran conflict also drove demand for US BTC-spot ETFs. According to Farside Investors, key flows for June 16 included:

• Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) had net inflows of $83.0 million.
• Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) saw net inflows of $41.4 million.
• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) reported combined net inflows of $17.6 million.

Excluding pending flow data for BlackRock’s (BLK) iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), BTC-spot ETF issuers saw total net inflows of $142.0 million, extending the inflow streak to six sessions.

Santiment commented on shifting sentiment toward BTC, stating:

“Bitcoin has surged as high as $108,947 with traders continuing to await another challenge of last month’s $112,000 all-time high. Interestingly, after 3 months straight of declining whale & shark numbers, the BTC network has 622 more 10+ BTC wallets in just under 4 weeks.”

Significantly, BTC has held above the crucial $100,000 level since President Trump announced trade talks with China on May 8.

BTC Price Outlook: Geopolitical Risks and ETF Flows

BTC rose 1.18% on June 16, following Sunday’s 0.08% gain, closing at $106,806. The near-term price outlook hinges on Israel-Iran-related updates, legislative developments, the upcoming FOMC’s economic projections (June 18), and ETF flows.

Potential scenarios:

• Bearish Scenario: Escalating Israel-Iran conflict, legislation roadblocks, hawkish Fed signals, and ETF outflows. A combination of these could send BTC below the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), bringing $100,000 into play.
• Bullish Scenario: Progress toward an Israel-Iran truce, bipartisan support for crypto bills, a dovish Fed stance, and ETF inflows. Under these scenarios, the bulls could retarget the all-time high of $111,917.

What to Watch

Investors should track court rulings in the Ripple case, legislative updates, news from the Middle East, and ETF flow trends. These factors are crucial for XRP and BTC price trends and could determine whether either token revisits record highs.

Explore analyst forecasts on where XRP and BTC may head next as legal and political factors unfold.