XRP rises as Ripple CEO urges clear rules and says US crypto users will remain beyond midterms

• Trading close to $1.32 on Thursday, XRP carries its recovery into a third consecutive day.
• Following the US midterms, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse urges the incoming Congress to establish clear rules, saying “pro-crypto members won on both sides of the aisle”.
• After last week’s fall to $1.20, XRP trades close to the 100-day EMA as buyers seek to reassert control of the trend.

Roughly 10% above last week’s low of $1.20, Ripple (XRP) edges up towards $1.32 on Thursday. The remittance token’s recovery suggests that the path of least resistance is gradually shifting to the upside.

However, unresolved structural obstacles could constrain further gains unless XRP recaptures these support levels. Institutional appetite also remains subdued following the Binance hack, which prompted concerns over the security of funds held on centralised crypto exchanges.

Brad Garlinghouse presses Congress for clear crypto rules

January is set to bring Democratic Party control of both the United States (US) House and Senate following its stronger showing than the Republicans in the midterm elections. NBC News reported that Democrats gained seven Senate seats: Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

With 259 seats expected in the House of Representatives, Democrats are on course to surpass the 218 required for a majority. Their sweeping gains were driven in part by economic concerns against a backdrop of high oil and energy prices.

Sentiment within the crypto industry is broadly positive. Despite Republicans falling into a distant minority in Congress, figures including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expect business to continue as usual. Writing on X, Garlinghouse said that “pro-crypto members won on both sides of the aisle,” and noted that the approximately 67 million US crypto users are not going anywhere. In his view, a new Congress does not alter the objective of establishing clear regulation.

Another industry figure who remains optimistic is James E. Thorne, Chief Market Strategist at WellingtonAltus. He believes the Democratic Party’s victory will not delay the regulation required by the US crypto market.

In a post on X, Thorne said: “Republicans lost the House and Senate, but crypto keeps moving. The GENIUS Act is already law, and stablecoin rules are being implemented. The CLARITY Act stalled, yet the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are still writing the framework for tokenization and digital commodities,” adding, “Democrats can slow new legislation, but they cannot reverse the agency actions already underway.”

Technical analysis: XRP seeks a bullish reversal

At around $1.32, XRP’s upside remains constrained beneath the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), which stand at $1.34, $1.32 and $1.36, respectively. The SuperTrend barrier near $1.40 also remains overhead.

With the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) now positive and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) sitting marginally above 50, momentum has improved modestly. Yet while the pair trades beneath these layers of daily resistance, the signals point more towards stabilisation than a decisive bullish reversal.

The first upside obstacle is the 100-day EMA at around $1.32. Beyond that sit the 50-day EMA at $1.34 and the 200-day EMA near $1.36. Around $1.40, the SuperTrend line adds to a wider supply zone, ahead of the more distant descending trendline reference near $1.66. Support is centred on $1.27, the area where price previously broke through a resistance trendline. Holding this level on a sustained basis would be necessary to avert a deeper retreat and preserve the emerging attempt to establish a base.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)