The XRP price is down today after seeing an encouraging start to the week. This decline has now seen the altcoin wipe out the vast majority of its gains from Ripple’s triumph over the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) back in July. So the question now is, what is driving the XRP price down today?

XRP Price Falls To Pre-Victory Levels

The XRP price is down 4.08% in the last day, as shown by data from coin tracker CoinMarketCap. This decline makes XRP one of the highest losers in the top 10 over the last day, suggesting that there could be unique drivers behind the price decline.

One of the most prominent factors in the decline of XRP though is the general bearish market. For example, the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap closely mirror the movement of Bitcoin, and when the pioneer crypto fell 4.65% between Thursday and Friday, the likes of XRP followed.

Further factors that are behind this decline is that the Ripple case with the SEC is not completely over yet. Following Judge Analisa Torres’s ruling in June, the SEC had received approval to file for an interlocutory appeal. This recent filing presents an extension to the 3-year-long battle so far, causing investors to recede into their shells once more.

To determine the impact that this appeal filing has had on the XRP price, we take a look at its price at the time of filing and its price now. On August 17, the regulator received the approval to file its interlocutory appeal, at which time, XRP was trading above $0.59.

The news triggered an initial 20% drop from $0.59 to below $0.49, before rebounding. Since then, fear has been the order of the day as to the outcome of the appeal, causing the price to further decline. At its current price of $0.5033, the XRP price is down over 15% from where it was trading at the time the appeal was approved.

This, coupled with the decline in the market over the last day, has culminated in XRP being a top 5 worst performer in the crypto top 10.

What Happens If The SEC Prevails?

The SEC winning the interlocutory appeal would no doubt be very bearish for the XRP price. Looking back at 2020 when the SEC first filed its lawsuit against Ripple, the price of XRP had tumbled quickly as the market reacted. In the same vein, if the regulator is victorious, then XRP could crash another 50% from here.

However, if Ripple wins, then XRP would easily be one of the best performers in the market. Its trajectory would be similar to that of Cardano’s ADA back in 2021 which saw the latter reach an all-time high price above $3 – a level that is still easily attainable for XRP under the right circumstances.

For now, XRP investors are waiting with bated breaths as Ripple is expected to respond to the SEC’s appeal on Friday, September 1. Depending on the outcome, it can either be bullish or bearish for the XRP price.