XRP advances as Ripple CEO urges clear rules, says US crypto users will remain after midterms

• Recovery momentum carries XRP into a third consecutive day of gains, with the token trading around $1.32 on Thursday.
• Calling on the incoming Congress to provide clear rules, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says “pro-crypto members won on both sides of the aisle” in the US midterms.
• Following last week’s fall to $1.20, XRP bulls are attempting to wrest back control of the trend as the token trades close to its 100-day EMA.

A gradual shift towards upside momentum appears to be taking shape for Ripple (XRP), which edges up to around $1.32 on Thursday. From last week’s low of $1.20, the remittance token has recovered roughly 10%, suggesting that the path of least resistance is slowly turning higher.

The recovery nevertheless faces structural obstacles, and failure to regain these support levels may restrict XRP’s upside potential. Institutional interest, too, has yet to revive following the Binance hack, which sparked concerns over the security of funds held on centralised crypto exchanges.

Can Congress deliver the clarity Brad Garlinghouse is seeking?

After a stronger midterm election showing than the Republicans, the Democratic Party is poised to take charge of both the United States (US) House and Senate in January. NBC News reported that Democrats flipped 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 crypto is broadly positive. Even as Republicans fall into a distant minority in Congress, industry figures including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expect business to continue as usual. In a post on X, Garlinghouse said that “pro-crypto members won on both sides of the aisle,” and added that the US’s approximately 67 million crypto users are not going anywhere. In his view, a new Congress does not change the mission of establishing clear regulations.

Also expressing optimism is James E. Thorne, Chief Market Strategist at WellingtonAltus, who believes the Democratic Party’s victory will not delay the regulation required for the US crypto market.

Writing 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,” and added, “Democrats can slow new legislation, but they cannot reverse the agency actions already underway.”

Technical analysis: Can XRP stage a bullish reversal?

Trading near $1.32, XRP continues to face limits on its upside. The price remains below the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), standing at $1.34, $1.32 and $1.36, respectively, and below the SuperTrend barrier around $1.40.

A positive turn in the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), alongside a Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading just above 50, points to a modest improvement in momentum. With the pair still beneath these layers of daily resistance, however, the signals suggest stabilisation rather than a decisive bullish reversal.

The first resistance test is the 100-day EMA near $1.32. Beyond it lie the 50-day EMA at $1.34 and the 200-day EMA around $1.36. The SuperTrend line near $1.40 adds to the broader supply zone, ahead of the more distant descending trendline reference around $1.66. On the downside, the key technical floor is around $1.27, at the area where the former resistance trendline was breached. A sustained hold there would be required to avert a deeper retracement and preserve the early attempt to form a base.

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