Ripple, in its push for transparency, released its Q3 2024 report on Friday, November 1. The report focused on several parts of the company and its token, especially echoing previous sentiments about XRP’s legal status.
According to the report market direction and sentiments were influenced by several factors during the quarter. These include the United States presidential race, macroeconomics dynamics, and the delayed Ethereum ETF filing.
Similarly, the report noted that the Federal Reserve cut rates by 50 basis points after a prolonged tightening period. The development opened the door for central banks in countries like China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Central Bank to follow with less restrictive policies.
Risk assets like cryptocurrencies reacted, with Bitcoin witnessing a 10% rise, and other altcoins registering a 50% surge. In July, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally gave Ethereum ETF a much-anticipated nod, greenlighting issuers like BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity to join the market.
Ethereum ETFs in the US have seen $522 million in inflows since the approval, and Bitcoin ETFs have steadied at $18.5 billion. In his reaction to the development, Ripple CEO said that the market sent a clear message about wanting institutional XRP products. Several firms including 21 Shares have filed S-1 forms for XRP ETFs, with Grayscale launching its XRP Trust and filing a motion to convert its multi-asset funds, including XRP to ETFs.
The report shows that the court’s verdict on XRP has established the token and Bitcoin as the only two assets with regulatory clarity in the United States. After the ruling, exchanges began relisting XRP months after delisting it.
The SEC is yet to give up on legal tussles with Ripple over the legal status of XRP. Brad Garlinghouse stated that the SEC has lost battle after battle since it started to come after the crypto sector. He mentioned that if they fail to adhere to the court’s verdict, it will lose its credibility and reputation. In Q3, the regulator was served legal papers by different crypto companies citing overreach and disregard of the law.
Regulatory developments on XRP
After the court’s verdict against Ripple, SEC announced it was planning to appeal the decision. The body highlighted that certain XRP distributions made by Ripple were securities.
On the other hand, Ripple filed the concerns it intends to bring to the court’s attention during the cross-appeal in Form C it submitted. With both parties challenging the verdict, Ripple already set aside $125 million in an escrow account for remedies.
The appeal and the cross will take place early next year, with arguments before the appellate court before a final verdict is made. Crypto has been an interesting topic during the United States election campaign. With more crypto-friendly lawmakers emerging, there is optimism that industry-friendly lawmakers could make their way into the House and Senate.
Ripple’s Q3 performance in the financial market
In its Q3 report, Ripple announced elevated volumes of XRP, seeing average daily volumes of $600-700 million on exchanges. Also, XRP witnessed a 27% rise in its XRP/BTC ratio.
XRP’s volatility also shot up, peaking at 110% in the middle of August due to price moves from $0.45 to $0.60. The token’s movement was confined to a range in the second part of the quarter when realized volatility dropped to 60%.
Trading volumes also increased considerably compared to the last two quarters. The increase was evident on exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and Upbit. XRP volume distribution was also unchanged, maintaining a consistent level like the last two quarters.
Binance, Upbit, and Bybit were responsible for about 65% of the total trading volume in the quarter. Binance’s share saw a slight 3% decline while Crypto.com’s rose by 6%.
The report also highlighted that the fiat traded pairs went up in Q3, rising from 10% in the previous quarter to 14% this quarter. Also, XRP was majorly traded against USDT.
On-chain transaction activity doubled in Q2, recovering from its fall in May and June. Despite the increase in activity, most of it was smaller transactions, leading to a little growth in on-chain volume.