XRP has rallied almost 40% in the past four weeks, outperforming other top digital assets, including bitcoin, driven mainly by retail investors, according to analysis by Kaiko, a Paris-based provider of crypto data. Trading volumes in XRP-Korean won (KRW) trading pairs on South Korean exchanges Upbit, Bithumb and Korbit soared last month, accounting for a giant share of the global activity. XRP has been rallying on hopes that Ripple Labs, which the US argues issued the token, will win its legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The cryptocurrency changed hands near $0.52 at press time, having hit a high of $0.58 on March 29.

XRP is experiencing an upward trend, driven by an anticipated win in the SEC lawsuit, as well as a new proposal on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) called Hooks. Ripple announced that Hooks will add smart contract-like functionality to the XRPL, allowing for custom code to influence the behavior and flow of transactions. Crypto whales are accumulating more XRP tokens in response to this proposal, with over 146 million XRP, worth approximately $77 million, added by whale addresses in multiple transactions over the last 24 hours, according to data from WhaleAlert.

Coins.ph, a leading Philippines-based cryptocurrency exchange, has temporarily halted XRP withdrawals due to technical issues. The exchange assured its customers that their XRP holdings are safe and they can still buy, sell, and trade the cryptocurrency on its platform.

Ripple's XRP token has been declared not to be a security by Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan law firm. Hogan argues that XRP could only be considered a security if it fits the definition of an "investment contract," but the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not demonstrated this in its lawsuit against Ripple. The SEC claims that Ripple illegally sold XRP as an unregistered security, but Ripple argues that it does not constitute an investment contract under the Howey test, established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1946. Hogan also states that the key issue is whether the SEC can prove an implied or explicit "contract" between Ripple and XRP purchasers relating to their investment, which Hogan claims does not exist.

Chatter among the legal community has increased in recent days as a verdict is now expected by some on or before May 6, with others admitting the SEC has one valid claim.

XRP has seen a 60% increase in the first quarter of 2023, driven by Ripple's legal win against the SEC, and the overall bullish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. The XRP/USD pair is expected to continue its gains in the second quarter, primarily due to a bullish continuation pattern known as a bull pennant. The pattern forms when the price consolidates inside a symmetrical triangle after undergoing a strong rally. A bullish target of $0.65 in Q2 for XRP price is predicted, up approximately 30% from current levels. However, a decisive close below the pennant's lower trendline could invalidate the bullish setup and increase the probability of testing the 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA).