A recent social media post has aroused fresh crypto community debate, to raise the question: Is XRP price restrained beyond the SEC lawsuit? The post went viral quickly, with some calling it unnecessary mongeering and others suggest it possible market manipulation.
What is said?
The post has argued that Ripple's monthly XRP sale, unusual network patterns, and historical price movements – especially at the popular 2017 XRP rally – indicated in possible price suppression. It even noted a study that found a negative connection between the XRP transaction network and its price performance. Naturally, it raised many questions within the crypto community.
The expert is removing the wind
However, XRP attorney and supporter Bill Morgan explained that the post has made many exaggerated claims. For starters, he clarified that the ripple did not own 43% of the XRP supply, as the post suggests. According to CoinMarketCap data, around 58.5% of XRP is in circulation, excluding what Ripple holds in Escrow.
Morgan also said Ripple's monthly sales from Escrow make up only a small portion of the total market volume and have no price effect. In fact, the evidence presented in the SEC lawsuit has revealed that the Ripple has taken steps to support XRP prices, such as locking a large amount of Escrow tokens to reduce market pressure.
He added that the SEC spent more than 18 months of investigating Ripple before the lawsuit was filed, and if there was proof of price manipulation, it would be used in court. This, he argued, making it hard to believe.
Further clarification of the situation, Morgan said the price of XRP has a history that follows the crypto market, moving consistent with Bitcoin and Ethereum. This trend has remained the same for the past four years, and little has changed to challenge that pattern.
