XRP News Today: XRP Trails Market as SEC Hesitates on ETFs; BTC Soars to $111k

SEC Delays XRP-ETF Reviews, Legal Clouds Pressure XRP

XRP was back under the spotlight on Thursday, May 22, with the SEC facing XRP-spot ETF intermediary deadlines. As widely anticipated, the SEC delayed the reviews for two XRP-spot ETF applications, Coinshares XRP ETF and Bitwise XRP ETF.

Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst James Seyffart shared the announcements, stating:

“As expected, more delays on crypto ETFs dropped today. Delays include Bitwise Invest & CoinsShares XRP ETFs. Delay on Litecoin ETF Filing, Delay on Fidelity’s In-Kind Bitcoin filing. On the more positive side: SEC acknowledged Canary Fund’s staked TRX filing.”

More XRP-spot ETF applications have intermediate deadlines looming, including 21Shares and WisdomTree.

SEC Settlement Filing in Focus as Court Deadline Looms

While expected, the news pressured XRP as investors awaited updates from the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple case after Judge Torres’ May 15 ruling. Judge Torres rejected the SEC’s request for an indicative ruling on vacating the injunction prohibiting XRP sales to institutional investors and lowering the $125 million fine.

While Judge Torres denied the request based on a procedural issue, pro-crypto lawyers suggested she rejected the motion because the SEC failed to convincingly argue that reversing her final judgment was in the best interest of the public and institutions. Amicus Curiae attorney John E. Deaton suggested that the SEC may need to declare XRP a commodity and acknowledge its position in the case is flawed to obtain an indicative ruling.

There were no updates from the SEC’s closed meeting on Thursday, May 22, leaving investors in limbo. A second filing could come at any moment, with a favorable ruling needed for the SEC to drop its appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling.

XRP Price Outlook: Focus on Legal Developments

XRP advanced 1.53% on Thursday, May 22, building on Wednesday’s 1.64% gain, closing at $2.4318. However, the token underperformed the broader market, which rallied 2.33%, taking the total crypto market cap to $3.47 trillion. The delays to XRP-spot ETF reviews and legal limbo left XRP trailing the broader market.

XRP’s near-term trajectory depends on SEC vs. Ripple court filings, court rulings, and XRP-spot ETF market-related updates.

Technical support sits at $2.3. A break above the May 12 high of $2.6553 could signal a move toward $3.00, with the potential to reach the record high of $3.5505.

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

Bitcoin Celebrates Pizza Day with New Record High

Bitcoin (BTC) joined XRP in positive territory on May 22 as investors recognized the 15th anniversary of Pizza Day. Pizza Day commemorates the first reported purchase of consumer goods with crypto. A software developer paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas on May 22, 2010. At current value, the two pizzas would have cost $1.11 billion. BTC climbed to a new record high of $111,910 on Pizza Day, fully recovering from its April drop to $74,624.

Market intelligence platform Santiment remarked on BTC’s recent price trends, stating:

“Bitcoin’s new all-time high now stands at ~$111.9K, with a strong chance of this mark continuing to be extended the rest of the week. Historically, a great justification that crypto is in a bull cycle is when the average age of all BTC held is getting younger (aka moving down on this chart).”

BTC-Spot ETF Market Extends Winning Streak

The BTC-spot ETF market continued to swing the supply-demand balance in BTC’s favor. On May 21, BTC-spot ETF issuers reported net inflows of $607.1 million, extending the inflow streak to six sessions. The inflow streak is likely to continue on May 22. According to Farside Investors:

• Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) reported net inflows of $48.7 million.
• ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB had net inflows of $8.9 million.

Excluding data from BlackRock’s (BLK) pending iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the US BTC-spot ETF market saw total inflows of $57.6 million. Notably, IBIT has seen average daily net inflows of $375 million.

ETF Store President Nate Geraci remarked:

“Over $500mil into iShares Bitcoin ETF… Nearly $2bil just over past week or so. Inflows 26 of past 27 days. $7+ bil in new $$$ overall. Given trading volume today, expect these inflow numbers to increase.”

BTC Price Outlook: Legislation and ETF Trends

BTC climbed 1.8% on May 22, following Wednesday’s 2.57% rally, to close at $111,583. Significantly, BTC soared to a new record high of $111,910 before easing back.

BTC’s near-term outlook depends on legislative developments, global trade headlines, macroeconomic indicators, and ETF inflows.

Potential scenarios:

• Bearish Scenario: Renewed trade tensions, legislation deadlock, US recession fears, and ETF outflows. Bearish sentiment could send BTC below $100,000.
• Bullish Scenario: Easing trade tensions, upbeat US economic data, Bitcoin Act progress, and ETF inflows. Bullish sentiment could drive BTC above the record high of $111,910 to target $115,000.

For context, Senator Cynthia Lummis recently reintroduced the Bitcoin Act, proposing the US government acquire one million BTC over five years, with a 20-year mandatory holding period.

What to Watch

Investors should monitor filings in the Ripple case, legislative updates from Capitol Hill, and US macroeconomic data. These will likely dictate price trends and determine whether XRP and BTC can extend their gains.

Read analysts’ insights on what could drive cryptocurrencies to new highs.