XRP has experienced a significant price pullback recently, largely driven by the broader bearish market trend affecting major cryptocurrencies. 

Despite this, whales have been accumulating large amounts of XRP, which may signal the potential for a price reversal. Historical trends suggest that a rally could be on the horizon.

XRP Whales See A Bullish Future

Whale addresses holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP have added over 300 million XRP, totaling $609 million in the last few days. The accumulation occurred after these whales previously sold off their holdings when prices were higher, locking in profits.

Now, with the market in a slump, they are buying back in, signaling a high level of confidence in XRP’s future price movements.

The actions of these whales suggest a belief in an eventual price recovery. Their purchasing behavior is typically a strong indicator of market sentiment, particularly when they accumulate during dips.

The relative strength index (RSI) for XRP is currently in the oversold zone, a critical technical signal. This is the first time in seven months that the RSI has dropped to such low levels. Historically, such drops have been a reversal trigger for XRP, with the last similar occurrence leading to a 47% rally.

The current RSI value suggests that XRP may be oversold and due for a correction, which could result in a price rebound. Given that this level has often preceded significant price surges in the past, the likelihood of a similar outcome increases. If the trend continues, XRP could reach up to $2.98.

XRP Price Has A New Target

XRP is trading at $2.03, down 24% over the past week. The Ripple token is currently holding above the $1.94 support level. XRP is attempting to breach the resistance at $2.33 with the aim of flipping this level into support. If successful, the move would mark the beginning of a potential rally.

With the technical indicators suggesting a bullish reversal, XRP could target $2.33. Further movement above this level would bring it closer to $2.70. Surpassing this resistance would drive the price toward $2.95, which aligns with the targets suggested by the RSI data and recent whale activity.

However, if XRP fails to breach $2.33 and remains in consolidation below this level, the price could stagnate between $1.94 and $2.33. This would invalidate the bullish outlook and delay any potential recovery.

SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw broke precedent today with a scathing letter directed at the Commission’s pro-crypto turn. She accused it of willfully disregarding the law to promote the crypto industry’s interests.

The trigger for this outburst was the SEC’s decision to drop its lawsuit against Coinbase. Crenshaw’s term won’t end until June, and she may become a very vocal critic if she can keep her seat.

Crenshaw Blasts SEC Over Coinbase

The SEC is one of the US’ top financial regulators, and trouble is brewing behind the scenes. Last December, the industry lobbied hard against Caroline Crenshaw, an anti-crypto Commissioner whose term was ending.

Crenshaw’s re-nomination effort failed due to this pressure, but she’s still on the SEC until June. Apparently, she has little to lose right now.

In a scathing letter posted to the SEC’s own website, Crenshaw criticized the Commission’s entire pro-crypto direction. The reason? The SEC dropped its lawsuit against Coinbase after signaling it would do so, and this was apparently a bridge too far.

Crenshaw claimed the move openly ignored 80 years of legal precedent to give the industry preferential treatment:

“Today’s action undermines the credibility of our Division of Enforcement. It creates the specter that the agency will deploy its enforcement resources in conjunction with election cycles or in favor of those with means. This invites criticism that our agency is politicized and sows distrust in government. Our agency’s job is to do what is right. This is not it,” she stated.

This criticism is particularly noteworthy because Crenshaw is still a Commissioner, and this is live on the SEC’s website. Compare it, for example, to the farewell letter that pro-crypto Commissioners wrote for ex-Chair Gary Gensler.

They praised his “extensive service,” “zealous advocacy,” and his personal friendship. In other words, SEC internal disputes are never this public.

Clearly, Crenshaw thinks that the SEC’s pro-crypto shift is a grave mistake. Moreover, she referenced the industry’s stated desire for “regulatory clarity,” and questioned if it was sincere.

This may be a reference to Hester Peirce’s Crypto Task Force, which is about to host “Spring Sprint Towards Crypto Clarity” discussions with industry representatives.

In fairness, Crenshaw may have good reason to worry about the SEC’s future. The Commission has been ending a spree of crypto enforcement actions, and some of Gensler’s old targets have been grateful for the policy shift.

Others, however, have been openly vengeful towards the Commission and want to act decisively to prevent future enforcement.

Ultimately, the Coinbase lawsuit is just the beginning. Several cases like the SEC v Ripple are still active, and Crenshaw’s term won’t expire until after key deadlines.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) just announced the Silviculture Society, a new 15-member advisory council, in response to leadership controversy. This diverse collection of Ethereum builders is focused on one goal: defending the project’s core values.

Vitalik Buterin claimed that this Society is an experimental effort to promote community governance. The EF will build separate organs and advisory groups to tackle other problems, but the project’s direction is the first priority.

Can The Silviculture Society Uphold Ethereum Values?

Ethereum is finally starting to resolve leadership issues that have rocked the community. Two days ago, Aya Miyaguchi announced that she would become the Foundation’s next President after serving as Executive Director for seven years.

Today, the EF announced its new advisory organ: the Silviculture Society.

“The EF Silviculture Society: a loose collection of individuals from outside the Foundation who provide informal counsel to the EF … to make sure we sustain the core values of open source, privacy, security and censorship resistance. Ethereum’s success depends on having talented and committed developers building with these values in mind,” it claimed.

The Silviculture Society consists of 15 members from a very diverse range of backgrounds. Some have fairly conventional public-facing careers, like Matthew Green, a cryptography professor at Johns Hopkins University, or Lefteris Karapetsas, founder of Rotki, a privacy protector.

However, the majority of the Silviculture Society’s members appear to be totally pseudonymous, only using handles like “Aleph,” “dystopiabreaker,” or “mashbean.” The whole cohort strongly espouses the old-school crypto community’s values and cypherpunk culture.

Still, as one member noted, the Silviculture Society is not a governance council. Rather, it gives the EF “arm’s length feedback from the PoV of ecosystem participants.”

This same member also reposted a comment from another ecosystem builder, who noted that some EF criticism may not have happened in good faith. Instead, “price down pointless rage” may be to blame.

Ethereum Price in Turmoil, Fueling Criticism

While the EF has been embroiled in its leadership crisis, the price of Ethereum has been in dire straits. For example, a major controversy was related to how the Foundation handled business expenses.

This was resolved thanks to DeFi loan protocols, but discontent remained. Today, Ethereum’s price is at multi-month lows, and the whole crypto market may be turning bearish.

Ultimately, however, it doesn’t really matter if some of the community attacked EF leadership over price frustrations.

The Silviculture Society unequivocally looks like a good-faith effort, gathering a team of veteran builders to approach the same goals from many perspectives. It seems like a net positive for Ethereum’s project and ecosystem.

Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, has already been actively defending the Silviculture Society from social media criticism. He called it “an experimental effort to create more channels for builders and other community voices to influence the EF,” and this initiative is focused on defending core values.