The XRP price has risen by 0.5% in the past 24 hours, reaching $0.456787. This marks a 2.6% decline in a week and a 1.5% gain in a fortnight, as the altcoin’s value continues to be pulled in opposite directions by wider market pessimism and positive developments in the ongoing Ripple-SEC case.
Even with its losses in the past few days (which are in keeping with rate hike-caused market declines), XRP remains one of the best-performing top-100 coins of the past 90 days, during which period it has risen by around 20.7%. This medium-term momentum is likely to be continued as the market recovers from yesterday’s Federal Reserve-inspired selloff, with XRP on course to regain its seven-day high of $0.479406.
XRP Price Prediction
XRP’s technical indicators highlight how the altcoin remains in a good position, with its 30-day moving average (red) still in the process of rising higher above its 200-day average. At the same time, even with yesterday’s losses, its relative strength index (purple) is hovering around 50, revealing that it hasn’t lost a significant amount of momentum.
In other words, XRP is well-placed to continue rising again as soon as the market shakes off the Federal Reserve’s rate hike from yesterday. Not only does it remain grossly undervalued, but the fact that Ripple’s case with the SEC is entering its end phase will continue driving demand.
Indeed, all available evidence suggests that Ripple will secure a favorable settlement in this case. Most recently, Coinbase applied this week to file an amicus brief in support of Ripple and the latter’s fair notice defence, something which could boost Ripple’s case considerably.
More generally, XRP’s fortunes have been improving ever since the middle of September, when both Ripple and the SEC submitted their own separate motions for summary judgment. This means that the case is closer to ending, and that a settlement will be reached sooner rather than later.
In terms of just how positive a settlement would be for Ripple, there have been numerous judgments over the past year which suggest it could be decidedly positive. For example, Judge Torres ruled last month that Ripple could present two amicus briefs in support of its case, with this ruling coming against the SEC’s objections.
Back in March, the court also upheld Ripple’s right to use a fair notice defense, which the SEC asked to have dismissed. As a result, Ripple can now present evidence supporting its claim that the regulator failed to give it warning that XRP could be regarded as a security.
Short- and Long-Term Gains
Looking at the short term, there’s every chance that XRP could recover in the coming days to reclaim $0.466 and even higher levels. As noted above, its seven-day high is currently $0.479406, so if investor sentiment improves in the wake of the Fed’s decision to raise its base rate by 0.75%, there’s every chance the altcoin could return to such a price.
As for the long-term game, a positive outcome of the Ripple case could see XRP trouble its current all-time high, which is $3.40. Set back in January 2018, it’s arguably below a fair value for XRP, which failed to set a new record high during the 2020-21 bull market, owing to the SEC’s legal action.
A recent poll of 55 specialists produced an average prediction that XRP will reach $3.81 by the end of 2025 if Ripple wins its case. This is likely a conservative estimate, with a return to a wider bull market likely to make a higher price more probable.
It’s likely that some traders may not appreciate having to wait a few more months for the conclusion of Ripple’s case. Accordingly, there are a variety of promising new altcoins holding presales right now, with each holding out promise of big gains once they list on exchanges.
Dash 2 Trade (D2T)
Dash 2 Trade is an Ethereum-based trading intelligence platform that provides users with real-time analytics and social data, helping them to make more informed investment decisions. It began its token sale two weeks ago and has now raised more than $4.4 million, while also confirming its first CEX listing on LBank Exchange.
Also running on Ethereum, IMPT is developing a carbon credit marketplace, where users can earn NFT-based carbon offsets for shopping with a wide range of eco-friendly retailers.
IMPT’s presale has now raised $12 million barely a few weeks after launching. It’s likely that investors have been drawn to its innovative use of blockchain in solving the challenges faced by pre-existing carbon offset marketplaces, with the openness of blockchain technology making its marketplace more transparent.
One of the newest presales in crypto, Calvaria (RIA) is a play-to-earn game that lets players earn and battle with NFT-based collectible cards. Interestingly, users can play the game without having to hold any cryptocurrency, something which potentially promises to make it a gateway into blockchain-based gaming for many players.
Its presale has just launched and has raised over $1.2 million, with 1 USDT currently buying you 50 RIA (although prices will rise when the sale moves to its next stage).
The market is currently in a news-driven environment where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agenda rather than fundamentals.
Bitfinex analysts have warned crypto investors to be cautious as bitcoin’s (BTC) recovery over the weekend is not a sign that its correction is over; the asset could witness more bloodshed in the near term.
In the latest Bitfinex Alpha report, experts deemed the market’s reaction this week critical, especially as supply alleviated over the weekend could return when traditional markets open.
“No Man’s Land”
Since Saturday, bitcoin has risen almost 10% from $57,600 to $63,000, closing last week in the green. The asset has surged above the 125-day range low of $60,200, which it broke through earlier this month after news of the German government’s massive BTC selling hit the market.
Market sentiment began to improve after reports that wallets linked to the German government were almost empty. However, the positive sentiment may not be sustained for long as the BTC the German authorities moved to trading desks and exchanges are yet to be sold.
While the supply from Germany appears to have been factored into bitcoin’s market price, Bitfinex analysts believe the end of selling pressure depends on how the involved trading desks execute their trades in the coming days.
Although the shift in sentiment underscores the market’s capacity to integrate new information and adjust expectations quickly, analysts think the market’s reaction over the first two trading days of the week cannot be overlooked for two reasons.
First, the low support level in the $60,200 range has now become a potential resistance line. Second, trading patterns over the past three months suggest that weekends are usually favorable for markets, especially on Saturdays when supply pressure seems to subside.
“We are now in no man’s land until we get clear resolution above or below this level,” the analysts said.
A News-Driven Environment
Besides the potential resistance level and three-month weekend trading pattern, the market is currently in a news-driven environment, where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agendas rather than fundamentals.
Since selling pressure concerns are not yet completely obsolete due to upcoming Mt Gox creditor distributions, Bitfinex analysts expect such headlines to continue to have some impact on price movements. As such, the analysts urged investors to exercise caution in their trading strategies.
BlackRock’s IBIT led with $117.25 million in inflows on July 15, also being the most traded Bitcoin ETF.
The US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily net inflow of $301 million on July 15th. This extended their winning streak to seven consecutive days amidst a broader market recovery.
None of the ETFs recorded outflows for the day.
Bitcoin ETFs Rake in $16.11B in Net Inflows Since Jan
According to the data compiled by SoSoValue, BlackRock’s IBIT, the top spot Bitcoin ETF by net asset value, recorded the largest net inflows of the day at $117.25 million. IBIT was also the most actively traded Bitcoin ETF on Monday, with a volume of $1.24 billion. Ark Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB came in close behind with net inflows of $117.19 million.
Fidelity’s FBTC experienced net inflows of $36.15 million on Monday, while Bitwise’s BITB saw $15.24 million in inflows. VanEck’s HODL, Invesco and Galaxy Digital’s BTCO, and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC funds also recorded net inflows. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC and other ETFs, such as Valkyrie’s BRRR, WisdomTree’s BTCW, and Hashdex’s DEFI, registered no flows for the day.
A total of $2.26 billion was traded on Monday. The trading volume for these ETFs was less than in March when it exceeded $8 billion on some days. Meanwhile, these funds have collectively attracted $16.11 billion in net inflow since their January launch.
What’s Next For Bitcoin?
Earlier this month, bitcoin’s price decline was mainly due to fears of massive selling pressure from Mt. Gox and the German government’s BTC sales.
But the assassination attempt on pro-crypto former US President and presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump at Saturday’s rally seemed to spark a recovery in the world’s largest digital asset, and experts are bullish on the asset’s price trajectory going forward. Bitcoin surged more than 9% over the past week and was currently trading slightly below $64,000.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt discussed bitcoin’s price outlook, suggesting a potential major rally. He referred to a pattern he terms “Hump->Slump->Bump->Dump->Pump” and highlighted that the July 5 double top attempt was a bear trap, confirmed by the July 13 close. He sees a likely continued upward trend but warned that a close below $56,000 would negate this bullish view.
“Bitcoin $BTC could be unfolding its often-repeated Hump…Slump…Bump…Dump…Pump chart construction. Jul 5 attempt at the double top was a bear trap, confirmed by Jul 13 close. Most likely scenario now is that bears are trapped. Close below $56k negates this interpretation”
PeckShield alert reveals LI.FI’s protocol vulnerability is similar to a March 2022 attack, with the same bug recurring.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform LI.FI protocol has suffered an exploit amounting to over $8 million.
Cyvers Alerts reported detecting suspicious transactions within the LI.FI cross-chain transaction aggregator.
LI.FI Issues Warning After $8 Million Exploit
LI.FI confirmed the breach in a statement on July 16 via X: “Please do not interact with any http://LI.FI powered applications for now! We’re investigating a potential exploit.” The team clarified that users who did not set infinite approval are not at risk, emphasizing that only those who manually set infinite approvals seem to be affected.
According to Cyvers Alerts, more than $8 million in user funds have been stolen, with the majority being stablecoins. According to on-chain data, the hacker’s wallet holds 1,715 Ether (ETH) valued at $5.8 million and USDC, USDT, and DAI stablecoins.
Cyvers Alerts advised users to revoke relevant authorizations immediately, noting that the attacker is actively converting USDC and USDT into ETH.
Crypto security firm Decurity provided insights into the exploit, stating that it involves the LI.FI bridge. “The root cause is a possibility of an arbitrary call with user-controlled data via depositToGasZipERC20() in GasZipFacet, which was deployed 5 days ago,” Decurity explained on X.
“In general, the risks behind routers, cross-chain swaps, etc. are about token approvals. Raw native assets like (unwrapped) ETH are safe from these kinds of hacks b/c they don’t have approvals as an option. Most users & wallets also no longer do “infinite approvals” which gives a smart contract total control on removing any amount of their tokens. It’s important to understand which tokens you’re approving to which contracts.
This dashboard looks for all transactions of a user that intersects Lifi. Not all of these transactions indicate risk- but you can see how, broadly, integrations & layers of tech (like how Metamask bridge uses Lifi on BSC) can complicate how users do or don’t put their assets at risk. Revoke Cash is the most well known approval manager app.
But it’s also good security practice to simply rotate your address. New addresses start with 0 approvals, so starting fresh by moving your tokens to a fresh address is another good security practice.” – commented Carlos Mercado, Data Scientist at Flipside Crypto.
Recent Exploit Mirrors March 2022 Attack
Further analysis by PeckShield alert revealed that the vulnerability is similar to a previous attack on LI.FI’s protocol that occurred on March 20, 2022. That incident saw a bad actor exploit LI.FI’s smart contract, specifically the swapping feature, before bridging.
The attacker manipulated the system to call token contracts directly within their contract’s context, making users who had given infinite approval vulnerable. This exploit resulted in the theft of approximately 205 ETH from 29 wallets, affecting tokens such as USDC, MATIC, RPL, GNO, USDT, MVI, AUDIO, AAVE, JRT, and DAI.
“The bug is basically the same. Are we learning anything from the past lesson(s)?” PeckShield Alert said in a July 16 X post.
Following the 2022 incident, LI.FI disabled all swap methods in its smart contract and worked on developing a fix to prevent future vulnerabilities. However, the recurrence of a similar exploit raises concerns about the platform’s security measures and whether adequate steps were taken to address the vulnerabilities identified in the previous breach.
LI.FI is a liquidity aggregation protocol that allows users to trade across various blockchains, venues, and bridges.
