• XRP price was up 4.5% to above $0.52 after bouncing from recent lows of $0.47.
• Judge Torres only granted permission to file the motion for an interlocutory appeal. Its not an appeal.

XRP is up 4.5% to trade above $0.52 at the time of writing. The Ripple token is leading the broader cryptocurrency market as bulls look to bounce following the downturn that plunged prices on Thursday and Friday.

While the Fear & Greed Index holds at 37 to suggest the market is still bearish, Bitcoin has climbed above $26k and Ethereum is hovering near $1,670. Dogecoin has gained 1.2% in the past 24 hours. With the top 10 assets turning green, the total crypto market cap has increased 0.8% to $1.12 trillion.

XRP price up after SEC request to appeal

XRP holders have responded positively to the latest development in the SEC versus Ripple Labs case. After paring all gains seen following the July ruling that effectively declared XRP not a security, the plunge to $0.47 on August 18 threatened further declines.

As reported here, Judge Analisa Torres granted SEC’s request to file an expedited appeal on ruling about direct XRP sales by Ripple. Although XRP price had slipped slightly to retest the intraday lows, it flipped back above the psychological buffer of $0.50 as the market reacted to SEC’s motion of appeal that essentially acknowledged XRP by itself is not a security.

Here’s what Pro-XRP lawyer John E. Deaton said:

I have to say there is no doubt 75K #XRPHolders are a major reason the SEC is conceding this issue. We fought to have the judge actually ✍️ that the token itself is not the security. In fact, it was the first section in our argument in the Brief. https://t.co/ann7Hah7K3 pic.twitter.com/yqodFQ1eAV

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) August 18, 2023

Here is what the SEC’s filing read in part, as highlighted in a post on X by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terret.

“The SEC did not argue here or in Terraform that the asset underlying those investment contracts were necessarily a security (and the SEC does not seek appellate review of any holding relating to the fact that the underlying assets here are nothing but computer code with no inherent value).”

XRP price skyrocketed to near $0.94 in July after Judge Torres’ ruling.