Bitcoin Eyes $29K, Defying Fresh Crypto Lawsuit, Rate Fears; XRP Jumps 6% as SEC Drops Charges

Bitcoin (BTC) was holding a modest gain at $28,600 midday Thursday despite news that might have been expected to send the crypto sharply lower.

The state of New York earlier today filed a lawsuit against Digital Currency Group, its subsidiary Genesis Global Capital and crypto exchange Gemini alleging fraud to the tune of more than $1 billion.

Alongside, interest rates continue their sharp rise, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield up another 6 basis points to 4.97%, threatening to top 5% for the first time since prior to the global financial crisis. That, in turn, has sent stocks lower for a second consecutive day.

Bitcoin, however, remains higher by 1% to $28,600 after earlier in the session having made a brief run to just shy of $29,000.

Most large-cap alternative cryptocurrencies – altcoins – traded flat, with ether (ETH), Binance-adjacent token BNB, Polkadot's DOT, dogecoin (DOGE) slightly down. Solana (SOL) defied the trend, jumping 5% during the day.

XRP, a cryptocurrency related to the Ripple network, spiked over 6% late Thursday as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped charges against Ripple Labs chief executive Brad Garlinghouse and chairman Chris Larsen. The agency said it will continue pursue damages against the company.

The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), which tracks a basket of digital assets including BTC with the largest weight, was slightly up 0.3%.

Also at work were U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks at the Economic Club of New York. He said that inflation is still too high but rising long-term bond yields could mean less need for further interest rate hikes. Powell signaled the Fed will likely keep rates unchanged in November but kept the option open for a potential hike in December.

The lawsuit hasn't appeared to impact the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's (GBTC) share price, which was up near 2% during the day, per TradingView data. Asset manager Grayscale, another subsidiary of DCG, intends to convert its massive $15 billion bitcoin investment vehicle into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The firm bagged a court victory against the SEC in August for denying its application for conversion. The SEC failed to appeal the decision last week.

Read more: Will Lawsuit Against DCG Impact GBTC’s Chances of an ETF Conversion?

UPDATE (Oct. 19, 21:15 UTC): Adds XRP price action amid SEC dropping charges.