Why XRP Is Soaring Today

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is seeing big gains in Tuesday's trading. The cryptocurrency's token price was up 8% over the previous 24 hours of trading as of 5:30 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin was up 4.5%, and the price of Ethereum was up 6.2%.

In addition to bullish momentum for the crypto market today, XRP's token price is gaining ground in conjunction with a key deadline for legal challenges brought against Ripple by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). If tomorrow comes and goes without the SEC filing an appeal to previous court rulings, XRP's token price could see even stronger bullish momentum.

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XRP climbs ahead of SEC appeals filing deadline

In 2020, the SEC brought a suit against Ripple Labs, alleging that the company had offered its XRP as a security to early investors. A 2023 ruling found that Ripple should pay a $125 million penalty in relation to the case, far short of the $2 billion fine that the SEC had sought in the lawsuit. The SEC has had plans to appeal the ruling and needs to file a brief outlining its challenges by tomorrow. With the appeals brief still yet to be filed, investors have been buying up XRP and sending its token price higher.

What comes next for XRP?

The filing deadline for the SEC's appeals brief could be a significant near-term pricing catalyst for XRP. While the SEC has yet to file the brief, there's still a good chance that it will submit the filing tomorrow. On the other hand, there's a chance that the regulatory agency will hold off on submitting the legal brief.

With the incoming change in presidential administration, current SEC chairman Gary Gensler will be stepping down from his post. Gensler is set to be replaced by Trump appointee Paul Atkins -- who is broadly viewed as being more favorable to the crypto industry. With the upcoming change in SEC leadership, it's possible that the agency won't move to pursue its case against Ripple. On the other hand, it still seems more likely that the brief will be filed -- and then the appeals case will be dropped once leadership at the SEC changes. Either way, the longer-term outlook on the case looks favorable for Ripple and XRP.

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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.