Welcome to the story of Citigroup, caught in the crossfire of Ripple's ongoing showdown with the SEC.

Following Ripple's acquisition of Metaco, Citigroup finds itself at an unexpected crossroads and is now reconsidering its once-promising partnership.

From regulatory skirmishes to strategic shifts, let's dive into Ripple's journey and its far-reaching influence on the rest of the crypto market.

TLDR 📃

• Amid Ripple's SEC battle, Citigroup reconsiders its partnership with Metaco to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
• A lawyer suggests Ripple's ODL sales could undermine SEC's case against XRP being a security.
• Despite being bullish, XRP faces resistance at $0.51-$0.56, influencing its future performance.
• Despite weakening SEC's case and the UK commission's recommendations, XRP will likely underperform until the final legal verdict.

Disclaimer: Not financial or investment advice. Any capital-related decisions you make are your full responsibility.

Citigroup reconsiders Metaco deal to avoid SEC crossfire 👎

Citigroup, an investment bank, is reviewing its digital-assets custody partnership with Metaco. This strategic alliance, forged in June 2022, aimed at crafting a state-of-the-art platform for digital asset custody, heralding Citigroup's decisive move into the crypto ecosystem.

Now, it appears Citigroup is preparing to move to another partnership and is actively looking for a replacement for Metaco.

Why?

Call us crazy, but this next part might be the reason.

Ripple Labs Inc. acquired Metaco for $250 million last month (June 2023). There’s a lot of speculation here, but we’d wager this is no coincidence. As we’re all aware, the SEC is on the warpath at the moment, looking for any reason to bring a case against anything or anyone to do with crypto.

While the official line from all parties is tight-lipped silence, we can't help but speculate.

The coincidence is hard to ignore; with its current entanglement with the SEC, Ripple makes for an uneasy partner in the eyes of a traditional banking giant like Citigroup.

The ripple effect (pun intended) of the SEC's relentless scrutiny is evident. With Citigroup likely wanting to steer clear from the heated spotlight, the fallout for Ripple continues to worsen as it seems that the Ripple brand is alienating potential partners.

Yet, amidst this challenging backdrop, glimmers of hope for Ripple persist. A theory might yet tip the scales in Ripple's favour...

Pro-Ripple lawyer offers more arguments in XRP’s favour 🕴

A lawyer familiar with the Ripple v SEC case engaged in an interesting conversation started on Twitter by a well-known member of the XRP community. :

Basically, Mr Huber is asking why, if Ripple had been operating illegally and, in a way damaging to investors, the SEC allowed them to continue those operations for so long after the initial filing.

He questions the point of the SEC “protecting investors” when Ripple is allowed to continue operations despite supposedly harming investors.

An exciting explanation (well, theory) was given by lawyer Bill Morgan. He states that Ripple has only engaged in on-demand liquidity (ODL) sales since May 2020. In any injunction hearing against Ripple, it would likely be found that ODL sales using XRP do not represent an investment contract. This would weaken the SEC’s case that XRP is a security.

Furthermore, it could punch a hole in the SEC's broad-brush approach to labelling anything not Bitcoin as a security.

Aaand we’re back to the drawn-out debate about a token's nature — can something initially issued as a security change its stripes if it no longer aligns with the Howey Test's parameters?

So, we’ve basically gone nowhere - and we aren’t going anywhere fast.

At least in terms of the case.

But do the technicals paint another picture?

Price analysis 📊

We've had our eyes on XRP's weekly market structure for a while and for a good reason.

Right now, its market structure is bullish, consisting of higher highs and higher lows. Still, there's significant resistance above its current price between $0.51 - $0.56, which couldn't be broken in any of the three tests from the past months.

For XRP to reach that region again, it will have to bounce and form a higher low. After that, what's left is for $0.56 to be flipped into support for a continuation of the upside.

XRP's price action will be significantly influenced by that of Bitcoin, so make sure you make decisions based on that as well.

Cryptonary’s take 🧠

In the unpredictable tide of cryptocurrency, Ripple's journey resembles a suspenseful narrative that keeps us on the edge of our seats.

The initial wave of optimism, triggered by the Hinman News around mid-June, seemed to ebb quickly — giving truth to the market adage, 'buy the rumour, sell the news.' XRP, for now, seems to be sailing in calm waters with minimal catalysts on the horizon that could stir significant movement.

Yet, in the broader picture, the SEC's case appears to be treading on thin ice. We would say that the recent recommendations by a UK commission weaken the case even further. Antiquated laws are simply not applicable to cryptocurrencies, and regulators everywhere other than the US are catching on.

The outcome of the SEC case is still way down the road. While we wish we had a magic crystal ball to deliver more definitive news, the reality is that everything is still shrouded in the fog of legal proceedings. Until the judge smashes that gavel on the sound block and announces his verdict, it's reasonable to anticipate that XRP may continue its quiet journey, underperforming amidst the roaring waves of the market.

Simply put, XRP is likely to stay in still waters without a ripple insight for some time to come!

As always, thanks for reading.🙏

Cryptonary, out!"