THE LATEST CRYPTO NEWS

XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum are displaying sharply diverging fund flow trends, with XRP emerging as the most accumulated digital asset in the latest CoinShares Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report. With Bitcoin and Ethereum jointly recorded nearly $500 million in outflows, the data illustrates a shift in investor positioning away from the market’s largest assets toward select alternatives amid ongoing volatility. XRP Inflows Highlight Selective Demand Contrasting sharply with the redemptions sweeping through Bitcoin and Ethereum products, XRP has continued to register major inflows. CoinShares data shows XRP-linked investment vehicles attracted $70.2 million in new capital last week, reflecting ongoing interest from investors in these nascent ETF categories. Since their mid-October US launches, XRP has accumulated about $1.07 billion in inflows, a remarkable trajectory given the prevailing outflow environment for larger assets.  Related Reading: XRP Price May Be Bearish Below $2, But On-Chain Data Tells A Different Story This bifurcation in fund flows underscores a selective repositioning among investors. While broad risk assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum grapple with selling pressure, XRP’s performance shows that certain niche products are still attracting interest even in a downtrend. This pattern may be likely due to different expectations about regulations, adoption, or the impact of newly launched ETF products aimed at specific investors. Bit-Heavy Outflows: Bitcoin And Ethereum Under Pressure Despite their dominant roles in the market, Bitcoin and Ethereum endured significant net outflows during the reporting week ended December 29, contributing the lion’s share of the overall outflow figure. According to CoinShares, Bitcoin-linked products recorded approximately $443 million in redemptions, representing nearly the totality of the weekly withdrawal from crypto investment vehicles. Ethereum-focused products also saw $59.5 million exit, adding to a broader pattern of institutional caution toward the largest digital assets. These negative flows have accumulated since the mid-October US ETF launches, with Bitcoin recording roughly $2.8 billion and Ethereum about $1.6 billion in outflows over this period. The concentration of redemptions in the United States, where $460 million left digital asset funds, highlights a prevailing aversion among domestic investors toward reallocating capital into BTC and ETH during periods of price volatility and regulatory uncertainty. Related Reading: Banks Could Start Holding XRP Due To This Simple Change The sustained outflows amid weak sentiment reflect broader investor behavior during market stress. When capital flees established assets, it often signals profit-taking, risk reduction, or shifts into alternative strategies or cash positions, all of which can exert downward price pressure and prolong short-term weakness. For Bitcoin and Ethereum, this trend suggests that even their extensive adoption and liquidity have not insulated them from pullbacks in institutional demand. Overall, the latest fund flow data signals a clear rotation in investor attention. While Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to experience significant outflows, XRP is drawing capital, emphasizing a market environment where targeted assets are increasingly capturing the focus of both institutional and retail participants as 2026 approaches. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP is struggling to regain bullish momentum as persistent selling pressure continues to dominate market conditions. Price action remains weak, and recent attempts at recovery have failed to attract meaningful demand. With bulls largely absent, sentiment across the XRP market has turned defensive, and an increasing number of analysts are warning that the token could face further downside in the coming weeks if current conditions persist. Related Reading: Chainlink Shows Strong Accumulation Signal: LINK Exchange Liquidity Dries Up Despite the bearish tone reflected in price, on-chain data reveals an important structural shift. Data from Binance shows that XRP reserves on the exchange have declined to approximately 2.64 billion XRP, marking their lowest level since 2024. This drop indicates that a significant amount of XRP has been withdrawn from the platform, reducing the supply readily available for immediate sale. In on-chain analysis, falling exchange reserves are typically interpreted as a sign that holders are moving assets into self-custody rather than positioning to sell aggressively. The divergence between weakening price action and declining exchange reserves adds complexity to the outlook. While the market remains under clear pressure and momentum continues to fade, the absence of rising reserves suggests that the recent price decline has not been driven by large-scale exchange selling. Instead, the data points toward weak demand rather than an influx of sell orders. Falling Exchange Reserves Suggest Selling Pressure Is Easing A recent CryptoQuant report highlights a sharp decline in XRP reserves on Binance, pointing to a continued outflow of coins from the exchange. This reduction means fewer tokens are readily available for immediate sale, a dynamic that on-chain analysts typically associate with easing sell-side pressure. Instead of positioning to exit, investors appear to be moving XRP into private wallets, signaling a preference for holding or using assets outside of active trading venues. Arab Chain adds important context to this development. XRP’s price has fallen to around $1.80 after failing to sustain levels above $3, a zone that previously defined the bullish peak of the move. Crucially, this price decline has not been accompanied by an increase in exchange reserves. Related Reading: XRP Selling Pressure Returns: Investors Shift From Holding to Distribution In past market cycles, sharp bearish reversals were often driven by rising reserves, as large inflows to exchanges reflected aggressive selling. That pattern is notably absent this time. The current setup suggests that XRP’s weakness is more a function of fading demand than heavy distribution. Sellers do not appear to be flooding exchanges, even as price trends lower. This distinction matters for assessing downside risk. With XRP reserves now at their lowest level since 2024, the market may be building a more supportive base. If buying momentum returns, reduced exchange supply will amplify price reactions, triggering faster and more pronounced moves than periods of high reserves. XRP Tests Long-Term Support As Bearish Structure Persists XRP price continues to trade in a clearly weakened structure, with the chart highlighting a prolonged corrective phase following the sharp rejection from the $3.60–$3.70 highs. After peaking in late summer, XRP entered a steady downtrend marked by lower highs and persistent selling pressure, eventually breaking below the $2.00 psychological level. This breakdown shifted market structure decisively in favor of bears and accelerated the move toward the current $1.85–$1.90 zone. From a technical perspective, XRP is trading below its 50-day and 100-day moving averages, both of which have rolled over and are now acting as dynamic resistance. The 200-day moving average, currently rising near the $1.75–$1.80 region, has become the most critical level to monitor. Related Reading: Why $100,000 Is Bitcoin’s Most Important Resistance Level Price is hovering just above this long-term support, suggesting that selling pressure is slowing but not yet fully exhausted. At the same time, declining volume during recent sessions points to reduced participation rather than clear accumulation. As long as XRP fails to reclaim the $2.10–$2.20 range, downside risks remain elevated. A decisive breakdown below the 200-day moving average would likely open the door to a deeper correction toward the $1.60 area. On the upside, bulls would need a strong reclaim of $2.00 followed by acceptance above short-term moving averages to signal a meaningful trend reversal. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

The XRP price may be on the verge of its biggest rally yet, as a crypto analyst has forecast a dramatic 690% surge to $15 soon. According to the expert’s analysis, XRP is undergoing an unexpected measured move that has historically led to explosive price surges. While the current price structure depicts a bearish trend, the analyst remains confident that XRP could recover from the ongoing downside momentum and catch the market off guard with a parabolic move upwards. XRP Price Projected To Reach $15 From Under $2 Crypto market analyst Javon Marks has delivered a new outlook on XRP, highlighting a powerful continuation setup based on historical price behavior. In his analysis, Marks pointed out a measured move structure that previously defined a primary expansion phase for XRP.  Related Reading: XRP Stochastic RSI Just Touched 0.0 For The Second Time In History The analyst explained that XRP completed the full measured move after its breakout in 2017, delivering a sharp upside extension. According to him, the same technical conditions are reemerging in XRP’s current market structure, suggesting the potential for another significant price surge.  Marks emphasized that if the measured move plays out as expected, XRP could reach uncharted price levels above $15. He revealed that a surge to this point would represent nearly an eightfold increase from current trading levels below $2, equating to gains of more than 690%. Notably, this bullish scenario would mark a significant milestone for XRP, which has never been in double-digit territory and is presently trending downwards. The chart accompanying Marks’ analysis shows a long-term symmetrical triangle pattern that formed after XRP’s previous explosive rally during the 2017-2018 bull cycle. The cryptocurrency’s price had repeatedly respected converging trend lines, indicating sustained accumulation and compression over several years.  XRP broke above the upper boundary of this formation in late 2024, mirroring the same breakout seen during the previous cycle when the measured move occurred. This was followed by a strong price rally that continued into early 2025, pushing XRP above $3. Although the cryptocurrency delivered impressive gains for much of 2025, its price has since declined, falling below $2 and now trading at $1.87 after crashing by 15% over the past month, according to CoinMarketCap. A Downtrend Pressure Despite Short-Term Support On the flip side, crypto expert Marcus Cornivus notes that XRP remains in a downtrend, showing no signs of immediate recovery, as its market continues to be weighed down by persistent selling pressure. He said that XRP is holding just above a strong demand zone, where a short-term bounce is possible as buyers attempt to defend this area. Related Reading: XRP Price Must Stay Above This Level Or Crash To $0.9 Cornivus also stated that XRP’s overall trend and the bigger picture are bearish, with lower highs intact and the descending trendline still in control of price action. He highlighted that any bounce that fails to break and hold above the trendline would only lead to a temporary pullback. Additionally, if sellers retreat even briefly, he expects XRP to react sharply. The analyst has also revealed that if the demand zone fails, XRP’s downside continuation may accelerate.  Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com

Despite a mixed performance throughout 2025, XRP has emerged as one of the standout performers in the cryptocurrency market. Currently trading slightly below $1.90, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency has retraced nearly 50% from its all-time highs achieved in July.  Nevertheless, Standard Chartered is optimistic about XRP’s future, forecasting a significant upward trend driven by anticipated inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and increased regulatory clarity. Spot XRP ETFs Could Drive $4-$8 Billion In Inflows  The bank predicts that the launch of spot XRP ETFs could bring in between $4 billion and $8 billion into XRP throughout 2026. Should these inflows materialize, the resulting demand—coupled with XRP’s relatively limited supply—could catalyze a sharp increase in the coin’s price.  Related Reading: US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Key Catalyst For Potential Surge Toward $150,000 Next Year Analyst Geoffrey Kendrick has laid out an ambitious roadmap for XRP’s future, anticipating prices of $8.00 in 2026, and potentially reaching $12.50 by 2028. To put this into perspective, XRP’s current circulating supply is approximately 57 billion coins. Even modest inflows of a few billion dollars could create a meaningful supply shock in the market.  So far, XRP ETFs have gathered around $1.25 billion. To reach the $8 target, it would require annual flows to hit the range of $5 billion to $10 billion, similar to the initial enthusiasm surrounding Bitcoin ETFs. Regulatory Resolution As Key Catalyst  A parallel factor influencing XRP’s potential rise is the resolution of regulatory uncertainty surrounding the cryptocurrency. The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) long-standing lawsuit against Ripple Labs has significantly impacted XRP’s narrative.  Yet, in August 2025, the SEC withdrew its appeal, resulting in Ripple agreeing to a $125 million settlement and affirming that XRP sales on secondary markets are not classified as securities transactions.  Related Reading: Bitcoin And Ethereum Influx: Strategy Grabs 1,200 BTC, Bitmine Immersion Ups ETH by 44,000 This resolution eliminates a substantial legal burden and is seen by Standard Chartered as a catalyst for increased adoption. With legal uncertainties removed, capital that had been sidelined could finally enter the market. However, for XRP to achieve a price of $8 by 2026, favorable economic conditions, including low interest rates and a risk-on attitude among investors, would be critical. Should macroeconomic challenges escalate, investors may shy away from altcoins. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

In the evolving landscape, the narrative around XRP’s real use case is increasingly standing out in a market often driven by speculation. The altcoin is embedded in live financial workflows, particularly in cross-border payments and liquidity management. Its role as a bridge asset allows institutions to move value quickly, cheaply, and at scale, solving real inefficiencies in the global payments system. Why XRP Functions As A Bridge Asset In Global Payments This design choice is centered on understanding why its utility will drive price appreciation. An analyst known as SMQKE revealed on X that the core of this model is payment utility. XRP is designed to operate within the global payment infrastructure, and Ripple has integrated with existing financial systems to enhance speed, reduce costs, and improve settlement efficiency. Related Reading: Pundit Shares ‘Urgent Update’ With XRP Community – Here’s What He Said Through Ripple’s integrations, financial institutions adopt the network, and the altcoin is utilized directly to move value across borders. From a price perspective, this document outlines how institutional settlement activity has created a sustainable demand for XRP, supporting price appreciation through real transaction flow. Analyst Vet has highlighted the areas where XRP and the XRP Ledger were great in 2025. One is smart contracts, and a significant amount of development went into getting the alpha testnet live, where individuals can currently deploy and play around with it. Community awareness toward this also increased meaningfully. On the DeFi front, momentum came out strongly from late 2024, especially driven by meme coins. However, the activity dried out over the year. Baseline DEX activity is now higher than it was before the DeFi wave, but this raises the potential for more growth in 2026.  Furthermore, interoperability has made tangible progress as Wormhole went live, Axelar live became operational, and yield-bearing issued assets were bridged onto the XRPL. Currently, Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) appear to be a key enabler for trust-minimized bridging. On the application side, existing XRPL projects and wallets doubled down. Apps became more polished, with new feature-rich and better integrations, while no new app took over the community.  At the same time, tokenization stood out as one of the strongest verticals. RLUSD was a major milestone, complemented by smaller launches of other stablecoins and tokenized funds. The distribution channel of these assets needs a lot of work, which directly ties back to application-layer development. That’s why this year should be viewed as the foundation for 2026. How Fee Destruction Changes Economic Incentives Ripple’s XRP is designed to compete in low-fee markets and has built programmable economics. According to Xfinancebull, every transaction fee is destroyed; it is not paid to validators,  no middleman, and there is no inflation loop. Related Reading: Flare Launches New Way For XRP Investors To Earn This is because XRPL is designed to scale global payment rails, not enrich toll collectors. That’s why XRP is one of the few chains where volume is value, not congestion. Xfinancebull stated that this isn’t a trading feature, but it’s a monetary policy shift hidden at the protocol layer. Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP could still reach $28 this cycle under a “non-base-case” scenario driven by an altcoin-heavy rotation, according to CryptoInsightUK analyst Will Taylor, who argued that XRP’s multi-year technical compression leaves room for an outsized move if market structure and sentiment align. In his Dec. 27 “Weekly Insight” newsletter, Taylor framed the call inside a broader thesis: that capital chasing breakouts in traditional markets could eventually rotate into crypto, amplifying returns given crypto’s smaller aggregate market cap. Within that setup, XRP is his “core position,” and the token he sees as a primary beneficiary if altcoins capture a larger share of the cycle’s upside. Can XRP Still Reach $28 This Cycle? Taylor’s XRP outlook is tied to his expectation that total crypto market cap can reach roughly $10 trillion this cycle, a level he characterized as consistent with prior cycle behavior. The more important variable, in his view, is where Bitcoin dominance lands if that scenario plays out. Related Reading: XRP Exchange Inflows Spike To End 2025: Will Price Decline Deepen? He wrote that dominance could fall into the “35.3 percent and 31.5 percent range,” which would imply Bitcoin at roughly a $3 trillion to $4 trillion market cap in that environment and “leave the door open for around six trillion dollars to flow into altcoins.” That’s the backdrop for his XRP targets: not a claim about XRP alone, but a wager on the size of the altcoin pie if the market turns risk-on. Taylor also pointed to a prior discussion with trader Credible Crypto as an example of how high-cycle targets can emerge when liquidity, positioning, and sentiment converge. “My pinned post on X is a conversation with Credible Crypto where he talks about how, for example, XRP could go to $26 if the stars align for a cycle like this,” Taylor wrote. “And right now, it genuinely feels like those stars are starting to align.” Taylor disclosed that XRP is the overwhelming majority of his portfolio, a disclosure he flagged as a potential bias. “As you guys know, I am around 90 percent XRP in my portfolio, so I definitely have some bias here,” he wrote, before laying out a profit-taking framework centered on a mid-cycle target zone. “I would not be too surprised to see XRP reach a minimum of eight to thirteen dollars,” Taylor wrote. “I have discussed many times that I would be taking a lot of profit in that range, with an outside maximum target of up to around twenty eight dollars.” Related Reading: XRP Supply Shock Incoming? Expert Reveals The Truth He tied the higher-end target to a technical read of XRP’s long consolidation and the possibility that an altcoin-led cycle could be larger than many investors expect. Taylor described the $28 level as derived from the “initial breakout from the 2017 to 2018 cycle,” while emphasizing he had deliberately “diminished expectations” versus modeling a more aggressive, multi-leg extension. Even so, his risk management plan is explicit about reducing exposure in the $8 to $13 band. “As I have said before, I plan to heavily de leverage between eight and thirteen dollars if we are offered that opportunity,” he wrote. “I will not be selling all of my bags, though, because I do think there is an outside chance that we push higher, potentially toward the twenty eight dollar area.” The Argument For XRP Taylor’s core claim is that XRP’s structure is different from many large-cap alts because it has, in his view, spent longer in “compression” and is now emerging from it. He argued XRP “has experienced longer compression than most altcoins, has broken out of an eight year trend, and has held previous seven year resistance as support.” He also suggested that a favorable US policy narrative could act as an accelerant in a euphoric phase, pointing to “the rhetoric around US companies,” the “US Clarity Act,” and Ripple “remaining based in the US” as factors that could make a higher-end outcome less implausible in a risk-on environment. Still, Taylor repeatedly stressed that the $28 figure is not his central expectation. “That being said, and I want to be very clear on this, this is not my primary target,” he wrote. “My primary target is and has been between eight and twelve dollars, potentially stretching to fifteen or sixteen dollars this cycle. The move toward twenty eight dollars is an outside scenario, not a base case.” At press time, XRP traded at $1.86. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

XRP is trading below critical technical levels after losing the $2 mark, a breakdown that has shifted market sentiment decisively toward fear. Bulls are struggling to find reliable support as price action weakens, and recent attempts at stabilization have failed to attract sustained demand. The loss of this psychological and structural level has left XRP vulnerable, with traders increasingly positioning defensively amid broader uncertainty across the altcoin market. Related Reading: Why $100,000 Is Bitcoin’s Most Important Resistance Level According to analysis shared by Darkfost, selling pressure on XRP has intensified materially over recent weeks. The data shows that the current move is not a minor pullback, but part of a deeper corrective phase. XRP has declined by roughly 50% from its cycle peak near $3.66, falling toward the $1.85 region. This magnitude of decline reflects a clear shift in market behavior, as earlier optimism has given way to risk reduction and capital preservation. Darkfost’s assessment suggests that the increase in selling is driven by a combination of profit-taking from older positions and capitulation from more recent buyers who entered at higher levels. As the price moves further away from prior highs, confidence has deteriorated, reinforcing the downside momentum. Exchange Inflows Highlight Rising Sell-Side Pressure Darkfost further explains that the recent surge in selling pressure becomes especially clear when examining XRP inflows to exchanges, with Binance standing out as the primary focal point. As the exchange that concentrates the largest share of XRP trading volume, Binance often serves as an early indicator of shifting market intent. Rising inflows to exchanges are commonly interpreted as a signal that holders are preparing to sell, particularly when the increase is sudden and sustained. After several weeks of relatively calm conditions, characterized by stable and moderate inflows, this pattern changed sharply around December 15. Since then, XRP transfers to Binance have accelerated, with daily inflows consistently ranging between 35 million XRP and a pronounced spike of roughly 116 million XRP recorded on December 19. This marks a clear break from the prior holding-oriented behavior observed through much of October and November. The shift in inflow dynamics suggests a change in investor psychology. Longer-term holders appear to be taking profits after XRP’s strong run earlier in the cycle, while more recent entrants are increasingly capitulating and selling at a loss as the price continues to slide. This combination amplifies downside pressure and reinforces the current corrective trend. As long as elevated exchange inflows persist, conditions for accumulation remain unfavorable. Without a meaningful slowdown in deposits, XRP is likely to struggle to form a durable base, increasing the risk that the correction extends further in both time and depth. Related Reading: Trust Wallet Exploit Drains $7M: Hundreds Of Users Affected XRP Price Action Details: Testing Demand XRP continues to trade under clear technical pressure, with price hovering near the $1.87–$1.90 zone after a prolonged downtrend on the daily chart. The structure shows a decisive loss of bullish control following the rejection from the $3.00–$3.50 region earlier in the year. Since that peak, XRP has consistently printed lower highs and lower lows, confirming a bearish market structure that remains intact. From a trend perspective, the price is trading below all major moving averages. The short-term moving average has turned sharply lower and now acts as immediate dynamic resistance, while the medium- and long-term averages are also sloping downward, reinforcing the broader bearish bias. Each recent attempt at a relief bounce has failed below these averages, suggesting that sellers continue to dominate rallies. Related Reading: Bitcoin and Ethereum Coinbase Inflows Collapse While Binance Retains Relative Activity – Details The $1.80–$1.85 region is now a critical support area. This zone has absorbed several tests in recent weeks, indicating short-term demand, but the lack of a strong rebound highlights weak buying conviction. A clean break below this level would expose XRP to a deeper retracement toward the $1.50 region, where historical demand previously emerged. Unless XRP can reclaim the $2.10–$2.20 range and hold above it, the path of least resistance remains to the downside, with risks skewed toward further consolidation or continuation of the correction. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

On-chain data shows XRP has seen a significant value on the Binance Exchange Inflow during the last couple of weeks, a sign that may be bearish for the asset’s price. XRP Binance Exchange Inflow Has Shot Up To End 2025 As pointed out by Darkfrost in a CryptoQuant Quicktake post, the Exchange Inflow has been elevated for XRP recently. The “Exchange Inflow” is an indicator that measures the total amount of the asset that investors are depositing into wallets connected with a given centralized exchange. Related Reading: XRP Triangle Hints At Potential 10% Move—But In Which Direction? When the value of the metric is high, it means traders are moving large amounts from self-custodial wallets to the exchange. As one of the main reasons why holders deposit to these platforms is for selling-related purposes, this kind of trend can have bearish implications for the token’s price. On the other hand, the indicator being low suggests that demand for transferring coins to the exchange is low among the investors. Depending on whether withdrawals are also occurring, such a trend may be neutral or bullish for the cryptocurrency. Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the XRP Exchange Inflow for the Binance platform over the last few months: As displayed in the above graph, the XRP Binance Exchange Inflow was at relatively muted levels between October and the first half of December, suggesting exchanges weren’t receiving that many deposit transactions. This trend flipped starting December 15th, however, as the indicator witnessed a surge. Its value has since maintained above 35 million tokens, with a particularly sharp peak of 116 million coins coming on the 19th. The analyst has noted that the shift in investor behavior points to “a move toward profit taking for older positions, as well as capitulation and loss selling from more recent entrants.” The surge in the Exchange Inflow has arrived as the XRP price has plunged under the $2.0 level. The fact that these deposits have been sustained could be a reason why the coin has been unable to make much recovery. Related Reading: Bitcoin Supply Overhang: 6.6 Million BTC Bought Above Current Price “If this selling pressure continues, the current correction could not only extend in time but also deepen further,” noted Darkfrost. It now remains to be seen how the Exchange Inflow will develop as 2026 arrives. The Exchange Inflow provides just one way to gauge selling pressure in the market. Another method is through tracking the supply attached to the whales. As analyst Ali Martinez has highlighted using data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment in an X post, the big-money XRP investors have seen their supply go down recently. From the chart, it’s visible that XRP whales have shed 40 million tokens recently, showcasing that large investors have been in a phase of net distribution. XRP Price At the time of writing, XRP is trading around $1.87, down almost 3% in the last week. Featured image from Dall-E, CryptoQuant.com, chart from TradingView.com

A crypto expert has addressed the arguments suggesting that the XRP price could never reach $10,000. He explained that XRP is in a different league from most cryptocurrencies, making traditional valuation methods less effective. The expert also asserts that XRP is designed to handle large-scale institutional flows and, as a result, a $10,000 valuation cannot be ruled out entirely in the long run.  Why The XRP Price Could Reach $10,000 Stern Drew, the founder and CEO of Stageyo, the world’s first digital marketplace for stage performers, has weighed in on the long-running debate around the future price potential of XRP. On X, the founder argued that many projections dismissing a $10,000 XRP price are flawed because they apply the wrong framework and mathematical models to the asset.  Related Reading: Pundit Shares Why XRP Will Become Expensive And A $1,000 Price Tag Is Possible According to him, XRP should not be evaluated using the same assumptions as retail-driven cryptocurrencies. Drew explained that comparisons with Bitcoin and other digital assets often ignore scale entirely. He pointed out that a single Ripple partner can move more value in one day for XRP than Bitcoin processes in an entire year. This difference in settlement volume is central to how the expert believes that XRP’s future value should be gauged.  The Stageyo founder further stressed that XRP was primarily designed for institutional settlement rather than speculative trading. Its core use case is tied to moving large volumes of capital across borders effectively. In that context, Drew has suggested that price expectations that rule out levels like $10,000 based on retail demand or historical crypto cycles are not relevant.  He argued that low prices do not make sense when a cryptocurrency is handling massive institutional inflows. If XRP is used for high-value settlements, a higher price per token increases efficiency. This means fewer tokens will be needed to transfer the same amount of value, reducing friction and speeding up transactions.  Drew described this concept as a different kind of math that applies to a “different league” of financial activity. Rather than focusing on market capitalization to gauge a cryptocurrency’s future value, the expert emphasizes liquidity and transaction throughput. From this perspective, he links the possibility of XRP reaching $10,000 to its intended role in the global financial system.  XRP Positions For Major Role In Global Banking  In a separate X post, Drew drew attention to a recent statement made by the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Notably, the BOJ disclosed that both Japan and South Korea are working together on developing blockchain infrastructure, subtly referencing XRP and Ripple in its announcement.  Related Reading: XRP Open Interest Crashes To Levels Not Seen Since 2024, Can It Also Rally 600%? Reports reveal that official discussions are currently private, but their impact is expected to be significant. The BOJ highlighted that XRP holders should watch out and brace for future developments, as this collaboration could become a transformative moment for Ripple.  Notably, the crypto payments company has already established relationships with some of Japan’s largest financial institutions, including SBI Holdings. Moreover, South Korea has been a major investor in XRP over the years. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP’s recent price action in recent weeks has been under selling pressure, with the cryptocurrency struggling to reclaim the psychologically important $2 level. From a technical standpoint, the structure still leans bearish and lacks strong upside momentum.  However, beneath this subdued price behavior, activity on the XRP Ledger points to a more complex context that conflicts with what is visible on price charts alone. XRP Price Weakness Meets Notable Network Activity XRP’s price has been trading below $2 over the past few weeks, and this level has repeatedly acted as resistance during recovery attempts. Momentum indicators like the 50-, 100- and 200-day simple moving averages are showing hesitation instead of sustained buying pressure, despite the inflow streak of Spot XRP ETFs. This has left the price of XRP vulnerable to extended consolidation or further downside as long as buyers fail to regain higher technical ground.  Related Reading: Saylor Reveals What Will Drive Bitcoin Price To New ATHs – It’s Not What You Think Bitcoin and the wider crypto market conditions have not helped. Capital rotation away from altcoins has limited upside follow-through, leaving XRP and many other large-market-cap cryptocurrencies exposed to bearish moves. However, on-chain data from the XRP Ledger tells a very different story. Network metrics show a steady streak of high activity, with daily transaction counts recently approaching 900,000 payments per day, making it one of the busiest stretches in months. This increase has not been smooth or gradual either, as data shows clusters of larger-value transfers occurring alongside the rise in overall volume.  This data is from the XRPL tracker website XRPScan, which shows that the daily transaction numbers have been consistently above 900,000 throughout December, with some daily spikes above 1 million transactions. The pattern suggests that the activity extends more than what you would expect for the current bearish momentum, considering that periods of high retail activity like this are expected to contribute to bullish momentum. XRP Payments Activity. Source: XRPScan Price And On-Chain Divergence Leaves XRP At A Crossroads The growing gap between XRP’s bearish price structure and strengthening on-chain activity raises questions about how the market is currently valuing network usage.  A closer look at payment volume between accounts shows that hundreds of millions of XRP are being transferred daily, with several days seeing flows exceeding one billion XRP. In dollar terms, this represents billions worth of value moving across the ledger each day, despite the lack of upward momentum in price. Related Reading: Banks Could Start Holding XRP Due To This Simple Change Interestingly, the number of active users (source tag + destination tag) has also been hovering in the hundreds of thousands, which is far more than you would expect for a cryptocurrency struggling with price action. An explanation is that XRP traders are only actively trading in the short term.  XRP Active Users. Source: XRPScan This divergence puts focus on whether the current on-chain strength represents early positioning ahead of deeper adoption or institutional developments tied to Ripple, or whether it will continue to be disconnected from near-term demand in the open market. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

Comments from Galaxy Digital’s leadership have looked into what ultimately sustains value in the crypto market. In a recent YouTube discussion centered on 2026 expectations for Bitcoin, crypto, and artificial intelligence, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and Head of Research Alex Thorn singled out XRP and Cardano, questioning whether even the strongest communities can survive if real usage fails to expand when users have a vast number of alternatives to choose from. Galaxy Digital Leadership Raises Questions About Community Versus Utility During the YouTube discussion, Mike Novogratz presented the utility debate through the lens of capital allocation. He explained that the real question is what an investor chooses when presented with many viable options. If capital can flow into something like SpaceX, then crypto assets must compete on similar grounds. Related Reading: Charles Hoskinson Reveals What XRP And Cardano Are Already Doing 100x Better He acknowledged that XRP and Cardano both have deeply committed communities, but questioned whether that loyalty can be sustained if users do not see any real utility with those ecosystems. “Can Ripple hold it together? Can Cardano hold it together?” Novogratz said. In drawing comparisons, Novogratz referenced Charles Hoskinson, noting his success in maintaining Cardano’s community over time despite it being a “blockchain that people don’t really use a lot.” He made similar observations about XRP’s following, which has a strong community. However, he posed a direct question about sustainability: “Can you keep it together when there are more and more options?” Recent crypto market dynamics have caused capital flows to become more selective. Developers and teams behind blockchain ecosystems all know this, and this is why there has been a race to demonstrate usage, revenue models, or clear value flows tied directly to their tokens. According to Novogratz, that doesn’t happen overnight. It’s probably a year-long process, not a one to three-month process. Cardano And XRP Proving Real-World Relevance The questions raised during the Galaxy Digital discussion arrive at a time when both Cardano and XRP are actively trying to strengthen their utility narratives. Recent events have seen Cardano attempting to reinforce its practical relevance through initiatives like the Midnight sidechain. Midnight is a privacy-focused Cardano sidechain network designed to support confidential smart contracts and selective data disclosure.  Related Reading: Flare Launches New Way For XRP Investors To Earn Midnight is intended as a way to attract enterprise and institutional use cases that require compliance-friendly privacy, an area where public blockchains have traditionally struggled. XRP, on the other hand, is taking a different path through Ripple’s hard work to increase the utility of the XRP Ledger. Ripple has been expanding utility around Ripple USD (RLUSD), its US dollar-backed stablecoin, including broader deployment across multiple Layer-2 networks.  Ripple has also been on a partnership spree this year in moves to strengthen the utility of the XRP ecosystem, with about $4 billion spent on major acquisitions in 2025. The company also recently partnered with Doppler Finance to explore collaboration in XRP-based yield infrastructure and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization on the XRP Ledger, which is another added utility. Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com

A fresh “XRP supply shock” narrative has been making the rounds on X, with several large accounts circulating a Glassnode chart of exchange balances and arguing ETFs are rapidly draining liquid supply. An XRP Ledger dUNL validator, however, rejected the premise outright, saying the numbers and the market structure don’t support a true allocation squeeze. One widely shared post came from @unknowDLT, who wrote on Dec. 27: “XRP ETFs are absorbing supply fast. With only ~1.5B XRP left on exchanges and ~750M absorbed in weeks, a supply shock is likely by early 2026.” The account tied that thesis to the “Clarity Act,” arguing it would “forc[e] price discovery” and position 2026 as the moment XRP shifts “from speculation to global liquidity infrastructure.” Is A XRP Supply Shock Really Coming? Vet (@Vet_X0), an XRP Ledger dUNL validator, responded on Dec. 28 with a screenshot indicating exchange balances closer to 16 billion XRP, not 1.5 billion, and framed the supply-shock talk as a static misread of a dynamic market. “There is no XRP supply shock on exchanges,” Vet wrote. “1) Holders have close to 16B XRP on exchanges readily available. Plenty for anyone to get some. 2) If the price goes up or down anyone of you who has no XRP on exchanges could just send theirs within 3-4 secs to one.” Related Reading: Analyst Says XRP Price On The Verge Of Bearish Breakdown Vet’s broader point was that exchange balances and order-book liquidity are not fixed quantities; they change rapidly with price and incentives. In his view, that makes “supply shock” a much higher bar than a chart implying balances are trending down. “Thus, also XRP listed on orderbooks for sale is dynamic. Elastic, it can thicken or dry out in seconds back and forth,” he wrote. “Sometimes $10M buying can push price higher and sometimes $100M buying doesn’t stop price going down regardless. Markets are too dynamic to statically plot movements.” The debate then moved to confidence in the wallet labeling and the underlying counts. Popular pundit Zach Rector (@ZachRector7) questioned whether some entries looked “off,” citing one example: “Evernorth only has 86 million XRP?” Vet replied that the published list should be treated as conservative, not exhaustive. Related Reading: XRP Open Interest Crashes To Levels Not Seen Since 2024, Can It Also Rally 600%? “Full confidence that these numbers are the lower bound of what actually is on exchanges,” Vet wrote. “Means, these numbers are at worst on the lower end and that there are more accounts of exchanges we haven’t seen yet. I mean just check Upbit alone, lets only look at 4 out of many xrp accounts they have. 2B XRP. This is only a portion of Upbit, not even counting other exchanges.” Others argued that even if balances are large, effective float could still tighten due to custody structure, escrow cadence, and institutional accumulation. Dman Trader (@dmantrader) pointed to monthly escrow mechanics and claimed ETF holdings sit in dedicated XRPL wallets, describing them as “Locked up 1% of total supply already in a couple months,” while also arguing that CEX and OTC inventories earmarked for clients are hard to measure. Vet acknowledged a logistical angle — “Ripple is noting in the XRP report they facilitate supply transfers for ETFs” — but maintained that a genuine supply shock implies an immediate allocation imbalance, not simply steady accumulation. “A supply shock implies allocation imbalance by the market. Which is not true,” Vet wrote. “Sure, if tomorrow someone says I want 30B XRP now then there will be a supply shock. But this person aside, with 16B and many more billion in Ripple hot accounts it’s very fair to say we have enough for everyone to get their hands on XRP.” For now, the thread draws a clear fault line: influencer-driven balance charts framing scarcity versus an infrastructure-side argument that XRP liquidity is elastic, rapidly mobilized, and unlikely to “shock” without an unusually large, urgent bid. At press time, XRP traded at $1.8982. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

The XRP price has been bearish all through December, with key support zones failing to hold through the growing sell pressure. While the altcoin hovers around the $1.80 price level, recent on-chain evaluation shows that the XRP price could be in a precarious situation. Bearish Divergence Materializes Between RSI And XRP Price  In a Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, market analyst CryptoOnchain highlighted that there is a convergence of both technical and on-chain events, which reveal an imminent bearish phase for the XRP price. Related Reading: Cardano Founder Addresses ADA Dump Rumors, Is He Behind The 80% Price Crash? The analyst first pointed out that the XRP price is painting an unsettling picture on its weekly chart, basing this hypothesis on the technical context. While the XRP price hovers near recent highs, indicating intentions to recover previous levels, its momentum tells a contrasting story. CryptoOnchain explained that a bearish divergence has formed between the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the XRP price. So, as the XRP price appears to target recent highs, the RSI has taken on a clear downturn, creating lower highs progressively.  Usually, this type of divergence indicates weakening buying strength and dwindling momentum. Interestingly, historical data reveal that this pattern has often preceded significant price corrections.  At the same time, the XRP price happens to be retesting the psychological and technical key level at $1.80. The market quant explained that in the event that $1.80 fails to hold, the altcoin could quickly see the beginning of an unbridled dump. Looking at the broader technical context, it becomes apparent that any significant upside attempt depends on improving momentum.  Open Interest On Binance Cascades To New Low CryptoOnchain also cites a shocking development underneath the surface. The relevant indicator here is the Open Interest, which tracks the total value of all outstanding XRP derivatives contracts (on Binance) that have yet to be closed, settled, or liquidated at a given time.  XRP’s open interest recently fell to as low as $450 million, a point marking the lowest level since November 2024. A sharp decrease in Open Interest typically points out that there’s been a significant efflux of leveraged capital from the futures market.  Related Reading: XRP Stochastic RSI Just Touched 0.0 For The Second Time In History This kind of unchecked contraction suggests that XRP traders are either forcefully exiting the market or abandoning their positions out of fear. Moreover, the decline in Open Interest alongside weakening price momentum paints a narrative on investor interest; it shows that market participants are stepping back due to a lack of conviction, rather than positioning for upward continuation.  With these signals converging to expose a strong bearish scenario for XRP, market participants are advised to act with caution, as the $1.80 key level’s defeat could mean serious trouble for the token’s price. As of this writing, XRP is valued at approximately $1.87, with a 1.5% price jump in the past 24 hours. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

XRP’s open interest has reportedly crashed to lows not seen since last year, when the altcoin surged by around 600%. On-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant noted that this development could be bullish for XRP as it looks to rebound to new highs.  XRP’s Open Interest Drops To Lowest Level Since 2024 In a blog post, CryptoQuant analyst Arab Chain revealed that XRP’s open interest on Binance has fallen to its lowest level since 2024. The analyst noted that analysis of XRP Ledger data on the crypto exchange shows a clear rebalancing in the derivatives market, with open interest falling to almost $453 million, the lowest level since the end of last year.  Related Reading: Why You Should Pay Attention To XRP’s Exchange Netflows This Month Arab Chain noted that this development reflects a fundamental shift in trader behavior and confirms a significant decrease in leverage usage compared to previous periods. Notably, the XRP price looks to have been fueled by leverage in the early parts of this year. The analyst noted that open interest in XRP futures contracts exceeded $1 billion on several occasions, which coincided with strong price surges.  The XRP open interest also rose again in mid-2025 to levels similar to those recorded in the early months of the year, sparking significant volatility for XRP. However, Arab Chain noted that the current landscape is “markedly different.” Open interest has declined gradually and then sharply, indicating a significant exit by short-term speculators.  Meanwhile, the analyst explained that the decrease in XRP open interest carries dual implications. The first is that the decline in risk appetite and weakening momentum in the derivatives market explain the volatile price behavior in the absence of strong, liquidity-driven breakouts.  The second is that the contraction represents a healthy structural development, as it reduces the risk of forced liquidations and mitigates the abnormal pressures associated with excessive leverage. Arab Chain noted that periods of low open interest often represent transitional phases, during which the market shifts froma highly speculative environment to a calmer one that relies heavily on genuine spot demand.  XRP May Be Preparing For Another Significant Rally Crypto analysts have suggested that XRP may be preparing for another significant rally, although it remains to be seen if it could rally 600% like last year. In an X post, crypto analyst Niels stated that the altcoin is forming a higher low around this level. He noted that this is a similar structure that happened in April this year, before a new all-time high (ATH). The analyst added that a push above $2 could put the bulls in control.  Related Reading: XRP Stochastic RSI Just Touched 0.0 For The Second Time In History Crypto analyst Chart Nerd predicted that XRP could reach a new ATH on its next leg to the upside. This came as he noted that the altcoin was in the middle of an ABC reset. His accompanying chart showed that XRP could reach as high as $4.5 on this impulsive move to the upside, which is expected to happen in the first half of next year.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.84, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Banks have mostly stayed on the sidelines when it comes to holding XRP directly, even as interest in digital assets continues to increase. That hesitation has not been due to a lack of utility or demand but to strict regulatory capital rules that made holding XRP economically impractical for regulated institutions. However, a small adjustment in how XRP is treated under global banking rules could remove that barrier and change how banks interact with the cryptocurrency. Why Banks Can’t Hold XRP The main obstacle preventing banks from holding XRP has been its treatment under the global banking framework known as Basel III. Basel III is an international regulatory framework developed after the 2008 financial crisis that introduces higher quality and quantity of capital requirements in the international banking sector.  Right now, XRP currently falls into the Type 2 crypto exposure under Basel III, which is set up with rules for assets that pose higher risks. Under these rules, most cryptocurrencies, including XRP, fall into a high-risk category that carries a punitive capital requirement. Banks are required to apply a 1,250% risk weight to such assets, implying they must set aside far more capital than the value of the XRP itself. This means that under the Basel III framework, for every $1 of XRP exposure, a bank must hold $12.50 in capital. This dynamic was recently explained by a crypto commentator with the name Stern Drew on the social media platform X.  In a post on X, Drew explained that this capital inefficiency alone accounts for years of institutional hesitation. The issue has not been demand nor technology, but the regulatory capital treatment that made holding XRP irrational from a balance sheet perspective. The Regulatory Inflection Point The conversation around XRP’s regulatory status is becoming increasingly important to its long-term outlook. Interestingly, Drew’s analysis goes further by pointing to what he describes as an inflection point that markets may be overlooking. Now that legal and regulatory clarity surrounding cryptocurrencies is improving, XRP could be reclassified into a lower-risk category under Basel III. The endgame is that XRP is on a clear path to becoming a Tier-1 digital asset for global institutions, which is mostly for tokenized traditional assets and stablecoins with strong mechanisms.  If that reclassification occurs, the economics will change immediately. XRP would become acceptable for direct balance sheet exposure, allowing banks to custody, deploy, and settle using the asset without the need of excessive capital.  This is not a discussion about short-term price movements but about capital mechanics that determine whether large pools of institutional money can participate in holding XRP at all. In this case, liquidity provisioning of XRP by banks would change from off-balance-sheet usage to direct institutional ownership. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto analyst Skipper has drawn attention to a significant development for XRP, even as it continues to trade below the psychological $2 level. Based on this development, the selling pressure could be easing for the altcoin, while ETFs continue to contribute to buying pressure as they maintain their inflow streak.  Analyst Reveals XRP’s Stochastic RSI Has Hit 0.0 In an X post, Skipper revealed that XRP’s stochastic RSI has hit 0.0 for only the second time ever. This came as he noted that the altcoin has had a rough run, as it is down 35% in this quarter, 10% this year, marking its first yearly loss since 2022. The analyst added that XRP is also below the key $2 level.  Related Reading: XRP Price Must Stay Above This Level Or Crash To $0.9 However, Skipper suggested that analyst Steph’s discovery about XRP’s Stoch RSI hitting 0.0 on the 3-week chart provides some optimism. He noted that this has only happened once before, which was in 2020, right before the altcoin bottomed at $0.28 during the Terra LUNA crash.  Skipper also pointed to Steph’s statement that this could mean selling pressure is almost gone for XRP, though a quick bounce may not occur. The altcoin notably stayed flat for months in 2022 before it recovered. The analyst also mentioned that the drop in the stoch RSI marks cycle lows, not short-term trades.   While the selling pressure looks to be cooling, XRP continues to see significant buying pressure from the XRP ETFs, which marks a positive for the altcoin. SoSo Value data shows that these funds have recorded daily net inflows since they launched. As a result, they hold net assets of $1.25 billion, which is almost 1% of XRP’s market cap.  XRP Supercycle To Happen Next Year Self-acclaimed largest IQ holder YoungHoon Kim stated in an X post that the XRP supercycle will happen next year. Kim had earlier predicted that the altcoin could reach $10 or higher next year, which would mark new all-time highs (ATHs). This looks to be based on his belief that “all crypto will eventually connect with XRP.”   Related Reading: Pundit Explains Why This Changes Everything For XRP In The Long Term In the meantime, crypto analyst Crypto King has stated that patience is key as XRP looks to reclaim key levels. The analyst noted that the price is holding just above the $1.85 critical support and that a strong bounce and a reclaim of $1.98 would signal a momentum shift. He added that if that price level breaks, the first upside target is the first resistance at $2.58. Meanwhile, there is also room for the altcoin to rally to as high as $3.66 next.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.86, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

Flare Network has rolled out a new yield-focused product in collaboration with Upshift and Clearstar that offers XRP holders a way to earn returns without selling their XRP holdings. XRP’s price action has been bearish in recent weeks, and that calm has carried into the past trading sessions. The cryptocurrency is trading around $1.87, after staying confined between roughly $1.83 on the downside and $1.88 on the upside in the latest session.  This subdued price behavior has preoccupied recent discussions, but development around its ecosystem has continued quietly in the background.  Flare Launches New XRP Product Flare Network has officially introduced a new product designed to expand what XRP holders can do with their cryptocurrencies besides holding or trading. The product, which is called earnXRP, is positioned as the first on-chain yield solution that is fully denominated in XRP, and at the same time, addresses a long-standing gap in the ecosystem where earning yield typically required moving into stablecoins or other assets. Related Reading: The Decision That Could Change Everything For XRP Investors The launch is built around Flare’s FAssets system, which allows XRP to be represented on the network as FXRP on a one-to-one basis. To participate in earnXRP, holders deposit FXRP (XRP represented 1:1 on Flare) directly into an on-chain vault, where those assets are deployed across yield-generating strategies.  In return, users receive a receipt token that tracks their deposited FXRP along with any yield accrued over time, with earnings remaining fully denominated in XRP. Users receive earnXRP, which represents the user’s deposited FXRP plus any yield generated over time. This structure removes much of the complexity typically associated with DeFi participation. Strategy execution, rebalancing, and compounding are handled within the vault. Users can also request withdrawals at any time, a process where their earnXRP tokens are burned, and FXRP is returned to their wallet. Muted Price Reaction For The Altcoin Flare’s earnXRP is one of the few avenues XRP holders can participate in DeFi. FXRP is a 1:1 ERC-20 representation of XRP that unlocks DeFi utility not possible on the XRP Ledger alone.  Related Reading: XRP Price Falls To Critical Support Level, Is It Time To Panic? “Only 0.1% of XRP supply is utilized in DeFi, despite it being the 5th largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Users have not had an easy way to capture sustainably high returns. We’re excited to work with Flare and Clearstar to unlock XRP yield using the new Flare XRP Yield vault,” said Ethan, Growth Lead at Upshift. Despite the significance of the launch from a utility standpoint, the immediate market response has been limited. XRP is still trading within its recent range, with the price still below $1.9 and showing little reaction to the announcement.  This response shows that the altcoin is currently heavily influenced by broader market conditions and macro sentiment, which have weighed on price action across the entire sector. Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto analyst Steph has pointed to an “interesting” chart, which has previously led to an XRP price rally. This came as the analyst also suggested that the altcoin may be forming a bottom in preparation for the next leg to the upside.  Analyst Shares Why This Chart Is Interesting For The XRP Price In an X post, Steph highlighted the 3-week XRP price chart, stating that it was “interesting” for one reason. He revealed that the Stochastic Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped to 0.00 on the 3-week timeframe, which is extremely rare and has only happened once before, which was the 2022 bear market bottom.  Related Reading: Pundit Explains Why This Changes Everything For XRP In The Long Term Steph further explained that on such a high timeframe, this indicator only reaches zero when selling pressure is fully exhausted, which is a positive for the XRP price. The analyst added that this means that momentum to the downside has dried up, although he warned that this doesn’t mean that price must instantly reverse.  Steph noted that the last time this signal appeared, the XRP price entered a long accumulation phase before the next major move higher. As such, the analyst claimed that this again suggests that the downside risk is structurally limited and that long-term holders are absorbing supply rather than distributing. He further remarked that these signals tend to mark cycle lows rather than short-term trades.  The XRP ETFs also mark a positive for the XRP price as these funds maintain their inflows streak. These funds have recorded daily inflows since the Canary’s fund launched on November 13. As a result, they now boast net assets of over $1.1 billion, even as XRP continues to see significant demand from institutional investors.   XRP Remains Below Key Levels In an X post, CryptoXLarge stated that on the weekly chart, the XRP price remains below the descending trendline around the 8 to 21 EMA levels. He further remarked that this week, the price is attempting to break below the key support zone around $1.95, which aligns with the Fib 0.5 level and the 89-week EMA, which is a support that has held throughout the year.  Related Reading: Here’s Why The XRP Price Keeps Crashing CryptoXLarge stated that a weekly close below this level could increase the probability of a move toward the $1.60 support, which is the Fib 0.618. Meanwhile, a weekly close above $1.95 may boost buying interest, which could trigger a relief XRP price rally toward $2.30 and then $2.70. Crypto analyst Crypto King also echoed a similar sentiment, stating that a reclaim of $1.98 could eventually send the altcoin to as high as $3.66.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.87, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

Can a digital asset like XRP realistically sit at a few dollars if it is expected to serve as an important liquidity layer for the global financial system? That question is at the center of a growing debate around XRP’s market value and is the basis of comments shared on X by Jesse of Apex Crypto. His argument challenges the idea that XRP can function as a worldwide liquidity instrument through Ripple’s framework while maintaining a relatively low valuation around $3, which he says doesn’t make sense. The Liquidity Argument Behind XRP’s Valuation Debate XRP’s price history shows a clear ceiling that it has struggled to overcome. Since launch, the token has never sustained a move above the $4 level, with its highest recorded peak sitting around $3.65 in mid-July. Recent weeks have been even more challenging, as XRP has been trading under $2 with the entire crypto market going through a weak phase. Related Reading: $130 Million XRP Fumble: Analyst Reveals What Went Wrong Despite this, some bullish analysts continue to speculate about scenarios where the price revisits the $3 region. That outlook, however, was directly challenged by Jesse of Apex Crypto, who asserted that even a $3 valuation fundamentally misses the point of what XRP is designed to become. Jesse’s position is built around XRP’s intended role in global finance. According to him, if XRP grows into a primary liquidity source for cross-border settlements like it was intended to be, then a valuation around $3 would not align with that responsibility.  In his video commentary, he questioned what XRP would ultimately be backed by or pegged to, pointing to a structure tied to vast pools of global financial assets. These include fiat currencies, potential central bank digital currencies, and even commodities such as gold or silver. He noted that such a framework would imply that the total value represented by XRP tokens would correspond to the combined value of these underlying assets.  In simple terms, if roughly 100 billion XRP were expected to support or represent liquidity linked to trillions of dollars in global assets, then a single-digit price per token would appear mathematically inconsistent. From this perspective, XRP’s valuation would need to reflect the scale of the assets it helps move. Institutional Adoption Versus Price Reality The valuation debate is much more complex when placed alongside Ripple’s growing institutional footprint. Ripple has continued to expand partnerships with banks, payment providers, and financial institutions across multiple regions, which strengthens the case that its technology is gaining traction within traditional finance.  Related Reading: Dogecoin Price Could Rally If It Reclaims This Fibonacci Level At the corporate level, Ripple’s valuation and funding activity point to strong confidence from large investors, a factor Jesse of Apex Crypto believes should provide a valuation floor for XRP. However, XRP’s market price has not mirrored this institutioacnal momentum. Even with XRP-related investment products gaining attention and steady inflows, the price action is still limited, and the cryptocurrency might continue trading at low valuations in the near term. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

A crypto analyst has identified a key support level that could determine whether the XRP price stabilizes or experiences a sharp sell-off, sending it crashing toward the $0.90 mark. With volatility building and market sentiment turning cautious, XRP’s next move may be critical for both short-term traders and long-term holders.  XRP Price Faces Decline To $0.9 If Support Fails A crypto market expert who refers to himself as ‘Guy on the Earth’ on X has released an updated outlook on XRP, warning traders about a critical price level that could determine the cryptocurrency’s near-term direction. He noted that XRP has closed below the $1.95 monthly support zone for the first time in 13 months, signaling growing downside risk. According to his assessment, this breakdown could have serious technical implications if XRP fails to recover quickly.   Related Reading: Here’s Why The XRP Price Will Shine In The New Year The analyst’s chart shows that this marks the second time XRP has fallen below the $1.95 support on the weekly timeframe. Guy on the Earth stated that the last time it happened was during April’s US tariff-related market stress, which caused XRP and the broader crypto market to crash.  If history is any guide, the cryptocurrency could decline again if it fails to hold the $1.95 support level. The analyst has set the breakdown target at $0.90, which represents a more than 50% crash from current levels around $1.85. For the XRP price to stabilize, bulls must reclaim the $1.95 level and hold above it as soon as possible.  Guy on the Earth noted that XRP recently attempted to move back above $1.95 but was rejected, forming another lower high and reinforcing its broader bearish structure. He added that if the monthly chart fails to reclaim this support within the next several days, XRP’s downside momentum could accelerate.  For traders uncomfortable with the current setup, the analyst suggested reducing exposure and waiting for a confirmed daily close above $1.95 before re-entering the market. He explained that this strategy could help limit losses while keeping traders positioned for a potential price recovery.  From a longer-term perspective, Guy on the Earth has identified several potential accumulation zones if XRP’s price continues to fall. The key levels to watch on the chart are $1.61, $1.42, and the $0.90 target, with $0.75 representing the initial breakdown area from the previous rally. The analyst further noted that increased selling pressure from Bitcoin could open the door to deeper downside moves for XRP. Analyst Confirms Bullish Recovery Still Possible Toward the end of his analysis, Guy on the Earth noted that the recent price action does not indicate a full-scale downturn for XRP. He explained that the cryptocurrency is less than $0.04 from the rectangle resistance and that Bullish Divergence has yet to play out across multiple timeframes.  Related Reading: Peter Brandt Highlights Bearish XRP Price Chart, ‘You Need To Deal With It’ According to the analyst, a recovery and subsequent rally are still in the books for XRP, highlighting that sellers are becoming exhausted. Nevertheless, he warned that caution is necessary given XRP’s two consecutive weekly closes below key support.  Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

A crypto analyst has revealed how a well-timed XRP investment from the 2017 bull cycle turned into a missed $130 million opportunity, highlighting how execution failures can derail even the most promising strategies. The admission, shared publicly on X, has reignited debate over discipline, timing, and emotional control in long-term crypto investing. XRP’s Perfect Entry, Failed Exit The investment began with a disciplined entry. In early 2017, two participants collectively invested $1,200 into XRP at approximately $0.007, accumulating 171,428 tokens. From a market timing perspective, the entry was near optimal. XRP later surged during the cycle, briefly trading close to its peak and lifting the position’s value to roughly $770,000. Related Reading: Analyst Reveals Bitcoin Make Or Break Level Amid Campaign For $90,000 At this stage, the trade had already achieved what most investors aim for: asymmetric upside realized within a single market cycle. However, the position was never exited. Despite clear signs of market euphoria and a dramatic expansion in price, the gains remained unrealized. The analyst later acknowledged that hesitation and emotional attachment prevented decisive action, effectively transforming a winning trade into a missed opportunity. This hesitation exposed a structural weakness in the strategy: there was no enforced exit discipline. While the entry was carefully planned, the decision to sell depended on the moments when emotional pressures are strongest and risk perception is most skewed. The scenario highlights a recurring issue in crypto markets, where many investors focus heavily on asset selection and timing entries, yet underestimate how psychologically demanding exits can be during periods of rapid price growth. The Missed Rotation And Compounding Effect Of Inaction The second failure compounded the first. The analyst explained that selling XRP near its peak would have freed capital to redeploy into Bitcoin while BTC traded around $1,000. That move could have converted the XRP proceeds into roughly 771 Bitcoin, effectively positioning the portfolio to benefit from the next major phase of the market cycle. Related Reading: Analyst Shares ‘Cold, Hard Truth’ For Bitcoin Investors As Price Struggles Holding those Bitcoin through later highs—approaching 170,000 CAD—would have resulted in total proceeds exceeding $130 million. The strategy was simple and systematic: take profits from an outperforming asset and rotate into another with asymmetric upside potential. It required no leverage, no complex instruments, and no precise market timing beyond a broad understanding of overall market cycles. However, hesitation, second-guessing, and attachment to the original position prevented decisive action. By delaying the rotation, the investor forfeited the compounding advantage, leaving the portfolio largely static while the broader market continued to advance. The analyst’s reflection highlights how the crypto market consistently rewards preparation and disciplined execution but punishes hesitation. This experience serves as a stark reminder that the ability to act decisively at critical moments is often the true determinant of long-term success in crypto investing. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

After years of compression, XRP is quietly approaching a moment where the market will see a true structural break. This breakout is about a high-timeframe setup where market structure is on the verge of shifting. It is also the potential resolution of a multi-year structure that has compressed prices, absorbed supply, and conditioned participants to underestimate what comes next. Why Volatility Has Collapsed Ahead Of Expansion At the least expected time, XRP will print a legendary candle that will set a structural foundation and never move down. A crypto investor known as 24HRSCRYPTO noted on X that this move that is coming won’t be powered by retail hype, but by real economic activity on the XRP Ledger. When the altcoin begins to function as a settlement asset, volatility will become a liability, rather than a feature.  Related Reading: Banks Could Favor A Higher XRP Price, Finance Expert Says Additionally, the payment rails, liquidity provisioning, and institutional settlement system will require price stability. A bridge asset referred to as a vehicle currency cannot swing 30-40% and still clear trillions in value. As volume and utility increase, XRP begins to transition from a speculative instrument into market infrastructure.  Liquidity depth would be key to absorb shocks, while the price becomes anchored by demand. This is why the first candle isn’t a top, but the market repricing XRP’s role from a tradeable asset into a financial primitive. With new initiatives, XRP’s adoption is set to increase. Analyst X Finance Bull has revealed that RLUSD is the first US trust-regulated stablecoin launched by Ripple, issued natively on the XRP Ledger and extending across Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains for broader institutional access. Any banks that would integrate with RLUSD will be automatically onboarded into the XRP rails. This isn’t just about stable payments, but about demand generation for the altcoin as the default bridge asset. From BlackRock funds flow to global repo markets, that’s where the real volume begins to flow. This flips the game, allowing RLUSD to provide the liquidity, while XRP captures the movement. Why XRPL Meets Institutional Due Diligence Standards For the first time, XRP Ledger has now processed over 4 billion transactions since its launch in 2012. Co-founder of Tedlabsio, a crypto trader and investor, Niels, has pointed out that the real-world usage across the network has sustained more than 13 years of uninterrupted operation. Related Reading: Here’s How Many Transactions XRP Must Process To Reach A $2,000 Price Tag The XRPL consistently handles around 1.5 million transactions per day, with regular peaks exceeding 5 million, and settles in 3 to 5 seconds. All of this happens at fractions of a cent per transaction. Over time, more than 13 million XRP have been burned in transaction fees, a metric that reflects continuous demand in network activity. This is why institutions pay attention to XRPL. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

A growing part of the XRP community is paying closer attention to infrastructure changes taking shape on the XRP Ledger, especially as they relate to long-term utility and institutional adoption.  That context explains why crypto market commentator Brad Kimes, widely known on X as Digital Perspectives, reiterated a long-standing message that continues to resonate with many XRP holders: “Never sell your XRP.” His comment was in anticipation of the upcoming XRPL Lending Protocol. Why You Shouldn’t Sell Your XRP The comment from Digital Perspectives was a response to a post from Ed Hennis, a software engineer at Ripple, who recently outlined the upcoming proposal for the XRPL Lending Protocol. The proposal introduces fixed-term, fixed-rate, underwritten credit directly at the protocol level of the XRP Ledger. This approach is interesting because it moves lending away from smart-contract layers into a standardized, protocol-native system governed by validator consensus.  Related Reading: Here’s Why The XRP Price Keeps Crashing According to the explanation by Ed Hennis, the proposed loans on the XRPL Lending Protocol are going to be done with structured, clear terms, predictable interest, and explicit authorization, features that real-world institutions expect before committing capital. Therefore, Digital Perspectives’ “never sell” message is a reflection of a longer-term view where holders never sell their XRP and instead use them as collateral for loans. Instead of relying on generalized liquidity pools like most lending protocols, the design of the XRPL Lending Protocol places each loan inside a segregated Single Asset Vault. This structure isolates risk to a specific credit facility and avoids the cross-contamination that has plagued many DeFi lending platforms during periods of market stress. Therefore, the XRPL Lending Protocol reduces execution risk and creates a framework that resembles traditional credit markets more closely than existing crypto lending models. Real-World Applications Of The XRPL Lending Protocol Most decentralized lending systems today depend on heavy overcollateralization to offset volatility and the risk of anonymity. That approach might work for traders, but it is inefficient for real businesses that operate on predictable cash flows and underwritten credit lines. Enterprises are accustomed to borrowing without locking up more capital than the value of the loan itself, and that mismatch has kept many institutions on the sidelines. Related Reading: Ripple Reveals How It’s Hijacking A $16 Trillion Industry Using The XRP Ledger The XRPL’s approach introduces undercollateralized, institutionally underwritten lending alongside existing overcollateralized models. This expands the range of viable borrowers and aligns on-chain credit with how financing actually works in traditional markets. As noted by Hennis, real-world use cases of XRPL’s lending protocol include market makers borrowing XRP/RLUSD for inventory and arbitrage, Payment Service Providers (PSPs) borrowing RLUSD to pre-fund instant merchant payouts, and fintech lenders accessing short-duration working capital. The feature is slated to be available for voting at the end of January 2026. From there, the voting decision is up to validators on the XRP Ledger.  Once the lending protocol goes live and XRP begins to play a direct role in institutional credit markets, selling XRP at that stage may be short-sighted. Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP has slipped below a level that, for much of the past year, acted like a structural anchor for the chart: the $1.95 area. Crypto analyst Guy on the Earth (@guyontheearth) argued that XRP has now closed under that zone on a higher timeframe, calling out the two-week chart specifically. “For the first time in 13 months XRP has closed under this monthly support at $1.95 on the 2 week chart,” he wrote. “It’s the second time on the weekly this has happened with April tariffs being the first.” The 2-Weekly Close Is Crucial For XRP From there, his analysis went straight to the downside implication. “The technical target of this break down is 90c,” he added. “Do with this information what you have to. Everyone must make their own decisions at this time. The goal is getting back above $1.95.” The way he laid it out, $1.95 was not simply a mid-range price level but the lower boundary of a broader consolidation “rectangle.” Losing it, in that framework, opens the door to a measured move lower — with the reclaim of $1.95 as the key invalidation. Related Reading: XRP Price Forecasts For 2026 Unveiled By AI Simulation: Should Investors Remain Bullish? He also offered a risk-management approach for holders who are uncomfortable sitting through a potential continuation move. “If you are uncomfortable holding your bags with this breakdown – sell to reduce risk to where you feel comfortable,” he wrote. “Buy back on a close above $1.95 on the daily ( or a timeframe that you believe in) and your % loss of XRP is next to nothing. But should we go to 90c you are looking at a further 50% loss in capital.” For those treating the move as an opportunity rather than a warning sign, he mapped out incremental levels he views as potential buy zones on the way down. “Alternatively if you believe in XRP longer term and don’t like trading at all – keep buying on the way down,” he wrote. “Key levels are at $1.61, $1.42 and finally the 90c target and the 75c initial breakout.” Even in a bearish framing, he cautioned against assuming a straight-line cascade into every marked level. “We have went in a straight line down for weeks so it is unlikely that these targets would all be hit imminently,” he said. “$1.42 lowest this week if things get really ugly – not massively likely but possible with this breakdown and a big sell off in BTC to lower lows.” Related Reading: Here’s Why The XRP Price Keeps Crashing Not everyone agreed with the choice of timeframe used to call the breakdown. One account, XRP whale (@cryptoXRPwhale), pushed back on the premise: “2 week chart is not significant. You can’t choose a specific timeframe and say it’s a structure breakdown that fits your narrative… lol” Guy responded by reiterating that the level being referenced is higher-timeframe support, not a short-term marker. “Look at the chart. It held 13 months and now broke structure,” he wrote. “The lower boundary is monthly support. I’ve said all this.” There was also an attempt in the replies to flip the bearish target into a bullish setup. “Any price under $1 will be short-lived & sets $XRP up for a stronger push to the upside past ATH,” wrote Lawrence Bensen (@Lawrence_Bensen), referencing prior cycle lows and a reported wick below $1 on Binance earlier in the cycle. Guy acknowledged the point while keeping the technical math intact. “Yeah for sure – it has already been to 90c on Binance [on October 10],” he wrote. “I think we will recover before going as low as 90c – but that is the technical target of losing this consolidation.” His near-term bias, meanwhile, leaned toward caution largely on liquidity conditions rather than an absolute conviction that $0.90 must print. “My bias is that I find it hard to believe at Christmas people are going to throw heaps of money in this market,” he wrote. “Low liquidity has been an issue anyways and this week wont help. So the slow bleed continues.” At press time, XRP stood at $1.89. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

While most leading crypto-based Exchange-Traded funds (ETFs) recorded significant outflows last week, XRP investment products went against the current and attracted over $80 million in inflows, ending the week with a green performance. Related Reading: Analyst Shares ‘Cold, Hard Truth’ For Bitcoin Investors As Price Struggles XRP ETFs Steal The Spotlight XRP ETFs continue to show strong demand, recording a 25-day streak last Friday and closing the week with a positive net flow. Notably, crypto investment products registered a negative performance last week, seeing nearly a billion dollars in outflows. According to CoinShares’ weekly report, digital asset-based funds ended the week in the red for the first time in four weeks, with outflows totaling $952 million. This marks the products’ fourth-worst weekly performance of the year. CoinShares’ Head of Research, James Butterfill, suggested that the negative market reaction was fueled by the delays in the US crypto market structure bill, which was initially anticipated to be passed before the end of the year. This “has prolonged regulatory uncertainty for the asset class, alongside concerns over continued selling by whale investors,” the report noted. The negative market sentiment was mostly focused in the US, which recorded $990 million in outflows last week. Ethereum (ETH) funds suffered the largest outflows, registering $555 million in negative net flows. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) investment products came in second with $460m in outflows. On the contrary, XRP ETFs saw overall support with positive net flows throughout the whole week. According to SoSoValue data, the category closes the week with $82.04 million in inflows, marking a 6-week positive streak. XRP’s Correction Already Over? Amid this performance, XRP’s price also ended the week recovering from the latest market correction, which sent its price to a two-month low of $1.77. Market observer BitGuru affirmed that XRP has completed its downtrend and liquidity grab, and is currently stabilizing at a key historical demand zone. Per the analyst, “selling pressure is fading, structure is flattening, and this is where smart money usually starts positioning, not where panic happens.” Similarly, trader Niels suggested that XRP’s corrective phase may be over as it appears to be forming a double bottom pattern. “RSI has bottomed out already, and now the price is showing good signs too,” the trader affirmed, adding that “XRP had a fakeout below the support level before reclaiming the zone.” To Niels, if the market shows momentum, the cryptocurrency could surge 20%-25% toward the $2.30-$2.50 area in the next few weeks. Recently, the trader affirmed that once XRP breaks above the $2.20 resistance, where the pattern’s neckline is situated, it could rally to the $2.80-$3.00 area within a month. Related Reading: Fundstrat Predicts Ethereum Drop To $1,800 In H1 2026 Meanwhile, analyst ChartNerd highlighted a bullish divergence on XRP’s chart. “Price action is adhering to the lower low price action trendline whilst forming higher lows on the RSI,” he explained, suggesting that price could move to higher levels. He also noted that if the altcoin fails to break the 20 EMA, currently around the $1.98 level, the price would “simply resort back to the lower low trendline for support, where we likely see more relief.” As of this writing, XRP is trading at $1.93, a 1.1% increase in the weekly timeframe. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

XRP, currently the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the market, has mirrored the overall performance of digital assets over the past months, experiencing a significant retracement of nearly 50% from its all-time high of $3.65 earlier this year.  Amid this volatility, a new artificial intelligence (AI) simulation model has produced price forecasts for the altcoin, offering investors a more detailed outlook for the coming year. XRP Price Predictions Market analyst Sam Daodu recently shared insights from a Monte Carlo simulation that explored XRP’s price trajectory in which 10,000 paths were generated to capture a comprehensive range of potential outcomes.  The results offer statistical data such as mean, median, and percentiles, illustrating a probability distribution rather than relying on a single forecast. Daodu reported that the simulation results reveal a spectrum of outcomes for XRP. The mean price across all 10,000 paths stands at approximately $2.78, indicating that, on average, the price is higher than its current levels.  Related Reading: Dogecoin Weekly Fractal Hints At A Bigger Move Brewing In contrast, the median price is $1.88, suggesting that half of the estimated outcomes fall below the $2 mark. This disparity between the mean and median highlights the skew in the distribution, where a few high projections inflate the average, while the median reflects where most scenarios likely land. To identify a more probable pricing range, Daodu considered the 25th and 75th percentiles, which represent the central 50% of outcomes. According to the simulation, 25% of scenarios estimate XRP’s price below $1.04, while 75% indicate a price below $3.40.  Notably, about 60% of scenarios position XRP’s price between $1.04 and $3.40 by the end of 2026, with an expected median hovering around $1.88. 10% Chance Of Dropping Below $0.59  The analysis also highlights the upper tail of the distribution, where the best-case outcomes sit. The 90th percentile indicates a price of about $5.90, meaning that roughly 10% of scenarios project end-of-year prices above this threshold.  The expert asserts that achieving new all-time highs near $6 would require several positive developments, including sustained institutional inflows through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of over $50 million daily throughout 2026, increased actual usage of XRP for cross-border payments by banks, and persistent regulatory clarity without major setbacks.  Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Remains Stuck Inside This Range, But A Breakout Could Follow On the other hand, the simulation doesn’t shy away from discussing downside risks. The lower 10% of outcomes reveal a potential drop below $0.59, suggesting a worrying 10% probability that XRP could lose more than 70% of its current value by 2026.  Factors contributing to this bearish outlook could include regulatory setbacks, such as tougher restrictions on cryptocurrency custody or complications arising from recent settlements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  Additionally, Daodu believes that decreased investor confidence in the altcoin resulting from unmet expectations related to XRP’s utility adoption could further depress prices.  According to CoinGecko data, XRP is trading within the range expected to last till next year at $1.90, with a 2% drop in the 24-hour period. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

As the broader crypto markets remain fixated on volatility and short-term narratives, XRP is quietly transitioning into the accumulation phase. Institutional players are increasingly positioning in silence, favoring strategic accumulation over public signaling. This phase is rarely loud or obvious, and it’s defined by patience, regulatory awareness, and long-term infrastructure planning rather than short-term speculation. While the broader crypto market debates short-term price swings, a quieter story is unfolding behind the scenes. According to skipper_xrp’s post on X, institutions and banks are methodically positioning themselves, and the word on the street is that they’re betting big on XRP. Why Institutions Accumulate XRP In Silence Many analysts believe that the asset is entering a phase where price discovery could accelerate beyond the $100 mark, and this sudden price increase will come as a shock to investors. At the same time, the XRP Ledger is expanding beyond its traditional role in cross-border payment into decentralized media in the US. Related Reading: ‘Think Again’ Before Selling Your XRP; Expert Tells Investors Adding to the momentum, BXE is set to list on a major US exchange on January 21st, following its partnership with a leading node provider. The increased network activity means higher usage of the XRP Ledger with more XRP being burned. Despite BXE trading at $0.06 and a fixed supply of 500 million, many investors view it as undervalued. An investor and crypto trader known as Xaif Crypto has mentioned that from 2019 to 2021, MoneyGram actively integrated Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service, by leveraging XRP as the bridge asset for real-time foreign exchange settlement. However, when the US SEC filed its lawsuit against Ripple in late 2020, regulatory uncertainty forced MoneyGram to suspend the partnership despite XRP proving its effectiveness as a liquidity bridge.  Currently, with Ripple largely moved past its regulatory overhang and gaining clearer legal standing, the industry is revisiting questions that were left unresolved: Will banks and payment institutions return to an XRP-based liquidity solution? Nonetheless, if institutions prioritize speed, capital efficiency, and regulatory clarity, history suggests that XRP already demonstrated all of the benefits and can work at scale before it was paused. The only variable missing at the time was regulatory certainty. How Institutional-Grade Yield Comes To XRP Holders Crypto trader Xaif Crypto has also revealed upcoming features for the XRP Ledger. According to Xaif, the XRPL lending protocol, a protocol-native framework that underwrites credit built directly into the Ledger, enabling fixed-term and fixed-rate loans, is on the horizon. Related Reading: XRP Advances As A Recognized Digital Asset In Regulated Markets — Here’s How Each loan operates within a Single Asset Vault (SAV), which offers risk isolation per facility and supporting assets such as XRP and RLUSD. This design unlocks compliant, on-ledger lending for institutions and introduces a clear, structured pathway to institutional-grade yield for XRP holders. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto pundit BarriC has explained why an XRP rally to $1,000 is possible, even though it could mean the altcoin would have a market cap of almost $100 trillion. The pundit also raised the possibility of XRP rallying to as high as $50,000, which he described as “absolutely possible.” Why XRP Could Rally To $1,000 In an X post, BarriC stated that XRP will have to become extremely expensive so that it can be fractionalized and allocated to every bank and financial institution globally. He noted that this will be the case if every bank and financial institution around the world adopts and utilizes the altcoin.  Related Reading: XRP Price About $1,000 Is A Necessity, Analyst Claims In line with this, BarriC declared that this is why a $1,000, $10,000, and $50,000 price tag is “absolutely possible” for XRP. The pundit has continued to reiterate that XRP can hit the $1,000 price target despite how ambitious it sounds, considering what the altcoin’s market cap will be.  In another X post, he stated that the altcoin could still close out this year at $100 and hit $1,000 early next year. The pundit admitted that quite a few things would have to happen simultaneously, but that anything is possible in crypto. It is worth noting that finance expert Dr. Camila Stevenson recently echoed BarriC’s sentiment that XRP needs to be expensive to be easily adopted by banks for larger volumes.  Meanwhile, BarriC is confident that the XRP adoption among banks is already happening. He recently noted that Swiss bank AMINA plans to start utilizing Ripple payments and, by association, XRP. The pundit also alluded to the fact that Ripple is on course to become a Trust bank after the OCC granted it a conditional approval.  Other Potential Catalysts For Higher Price Crypto pundit X Finance Bull highlighted a Trump stimulus and XRP ETFs as catalysts that could drive the XRP price higher. He noted that 20% to 28% of U.S. adults now own crypto, equating to 50 to 65 million people with wallets and market impact. The pundit then raised the scenario in which a small percentage of the proposed $2,000 stimulus check flows into XRP.  Related Reading: Here’s Why The XRP Price Keeps Crashing X Finance Bull declared that this will create billions in demand, hitting an already rising market. The pundit also mentioned that the infrastructure is in place as XRP ETFs keep launching and banks are onboarding. He added that liquidity finds utility, which is why he is confident that a significant amount of global liquidity could flow into the XRP ecosystem, sparking higher prices for the altcoin.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.92, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

Expectations around XRP reaching the $100 price level have circulated within the crypto industry in the past few months, often resurfacing during periods of strong bullish momentum. As 2025 draws to a close, those expectations are facing reevaluations.  Despite intermittent rallies during the year and strong conviction among long-term holders, XRP is currently trading far from triple-digit territory. This gap between optimism and market reality has pushed some voices within the XRP community to reassess timelines to reach such a valuation. Zach Rector Pushes The $100 XRP Perspective To 2030 One of the most notable revisions comes from Zach Rector, a longtime XRP supporter who has openly adjusted his outlook. In a recent post on the social media platform X, Rector stated plainly that his expectation for XRP to reach $100 now sits around the year 2030. This position is a clear review of chatter from many XRP enthusiasts that envisions a $100 XRP as an imminent outcome within the current cycle. Related Reading: Bitcoin Just Entered Extreme Oversold Levels And Analysts Predict New ATH Targets Rector had already begun tempering expectations as far back as early November, when he acknowledged that XRP was unlikely to reach $100 before the end of the year. At the time, he noted that meaningful price appreciation was still possible, even if the most extreme targets are out of reach. At the time, he noted that saying XRP isn’t going to $100 this year feels like telling a kid Santa isn’t real. Why $100 In 2025 Has Become Increasingly Unlikely The idea of XRP reaching $100 within a single market cycle faces mathematical and liquidity constraints. At current supply levels of 60 billion XRP, such a price would imply a market capitalization deep into the multi-trillion-dollar range, putting XRP among the most valuable assets in the global financial system. As the year winds down, there is little evidence of the scale of capital inflows required to support that kind of valuation in the near term. Although bullish sentiment is strong in parts of the XRP community, market conditions have not aligned with the aggressive assumptions. Therefore, a 2025 timeline for $100 XRP has moved from ambitious to implausible, even for optimistic analysts. Related Reading: Bitcoin Just Entered Extreme Oversold Levels And Analysts Predict New ATH Targets Rector has previously attempted to ground the $100 discussion in simple market principles. In a post shared earlier this year, he outlined the scale of inflows required to drive XRP to major price milestones using conservative market cap multipliers.  According to his estimates, reaching $100 would require between $11 billion and $58 billion in net inflows, assuming a 100x market cap multiplier. Higher targets, such as $1,000, would demand inflows between $118 billion and $589 billion. Therefore, the $100 target is achievable towards the end of the decade, though not without sustained institutional participation and inflows into Spot XRP ETFs. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

After a strong start to the year, the XRP price has struggled to build a sustained bullish momentum throughout 2025. These struggles are highlighted in the altcoin’s downward spiral since hitting the all-time high of $3.65 in July 2025. The launch of the spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States was expected to offer some relief through increased demand for the underlying asset’s price. However, the latest on-chain analysis shows that the ETFs have failed to reduce the bearish pressure on the XRP price. XRP Price Could Fall To $1.5 If Exchange Inflows Persist In a Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, pseudonymous analyst PelinayPA revealed that the activity of a specific group of XRP whales has been the major driving force behind the steady price decline. The market pundit provided an ETF angle to this whale activity over the past few weeks. Related Reading: Peter Brandt Highlights Bearish XRP Price Chart, ‘You Need To Deal With It’ PelinayPA drew insights from the Exchange Inflow – Value Bands chart, which tracks and sorts the amount of a specific cryptocurrency flowing into centralized exchanges by different investor cohorts within a given period. Recent data shows that the majority of inflows are coming from the 100K-1M XRP and 1M+ XRP bands. PelinayPA wrote in the Quicktake post: After each major inflow spike on the chart, price forms a lower high and lower low structure, clearly showing that supply is overwhelming demand. This happens because there is no strong new spot buyer in the market. Even though whales are not aggressively dumping, the continuous increase in available supply keeps pushing the price lower. Using the inflow intensity and price reactions, the crypto analyst posited that the first major support zone stands at around $1.82 – $1.87. According to PelinayPA, this region represents an area with substantial historical buying activity that has offered stability in the past. However, the XRP price could fall to as low as the $1.50 – $1.60 range if the exchange inflows from whales continue to climb. As earlier inferred by the analyst, large transfers to centralized exchanges are often viewed as a signal of impending selling pressure. XRP Whales Offloaded Their Holdings When Spot ETFs Went Live As seen with its predecessors — Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the similar XRP exchange-traded products were expected to create institutional demand, leading to higher prices for the altcoin. However, the story has been the exact opposite for the XRP price, which is nearly 50% down from its all-time high. Market data shows that the US-based spot XRP ETFs have not registered a negative outflow day since their trading debut in mid-November. According to SoSoValue, the exchange-traded funds have a total net asset of over $1.14 billion. Related Reading: Ethereum Exchange Supply Just Crashed To New Lows, Why This Is Bullish For Price Interestingly, PelinayPA hypothesized that the reason behind XRP’s steady decline is that whales started offloading their holdings on exchanges as the ETF expectations heightened. This provided the sell-side liquidity for the retail investors who were looking to buy the ETF launch news. PelinayPA said that this occurrence explains why the XRP price faces selling pressure each time it approaches the $1.95 level. The market analyst noted that the exchange inflows would first need to dry up if the altcoin is to see a bullish run anytime soon. As of this writing, the price of XRP stands at around $1.90, reflecting an over 3% jump in the past 24 hours. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView