Ripple’s XRP is holding mostly steady in early trading on Monday as the wider crypto market trades in the red with buyers staying away on account of bearish moves in leading coins Bitcoin and Ethereum. At the time of writing, XRP/USD is trading at around $0.847.

With several traders staying out of the market during the year-end holidays and a lack of significant fundamental drivers, the eighth largest cryptocurrency has failed to see much price action in the past few sessions. In addition, mixed forecasts on its outlook for the year have also left the few traders still in the market confused about its direction and what to expect from Ripple’s XRP.

While the biggest driver of price action in the XRP crypto will be the outcome of the SEC vs. Ripple case this year, there are several other factors that can also contribute to its moves. For instance, a recent report from Arcane Research predicts that Ripple’s cryptocurrency could slip down from the top 10 rankings this year as newer altcoins gain attention and see stellar growth in the coming months. This forecast shook investor confidence to some extent, causing Ripple’s XRP to slide under the $0.90 level last week.

Meanwhile, the new year started with Ripple releasing one billion XRP coins from escrow and into ODL corridor, an automatic transfer devised by its developers. The move not only supports the XRP liquidity in crypto exchanges but is also vital to cover operational expenses the firm encounters.

Meanwhile, Attorney Jeremy Hogan has indicated some hope that the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit could be resolved in the company’s favor by April 2022. He anticipates that it is highly unlikely that the case could drag on into the summer of this year. The end of the lawsuit could spell some bullish moves in the XRP token, especially if it ends with a win for Ripple.

XRP/USD Technical Analysis

Technical analysis of the H4 price chart of XRP/USD reveals a bearish bias among most of the moving averages as well as the momentum indicator. However, the the MACD suggests some interest among buyers too.

Ripple’s XRP is trading under the pivot point at $0.87 although the immediate support at 0.78 is working effectively for now. A buildup in selling pressure could see this level being tested while an uptick in buyers could see XRP cross the PP soon.