As Ripple won significant scores against the SEC, XRP, now the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has shown an astonishing rally this past year.
Having passed the $1 mark and now trading at around $2 for the first time since 2018 epic spike, XRP was poised to climb to $10 target.
However, that didn’t happen. The Ripple-associated cryptocurrency peaked at $3.65, having beaten its previous ATH of 2018.
How will the XRP price move in 2025?
Ripple vs. SEC: case dismissed
The SEC filed suit against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that Ripple’s sale of XRP constituted an unregistered securities offering. Ripple, however, contends that XRP should be classified as a digital currency, not a security.
This classification is crucial, as a ruling against Ripple could set a regulatory precedent for other cryptocurrencies, potentially reshaping the legal environment for the entire crypto sector.
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On August 7, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a joint stipulation with Ripple Labs, Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen, dismissing both the SEC’s appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal and formally ending the agency’s civil enforcement case.
The cross-appeals followed a district court ruling that imposed a civil penalty on Ripple and an injunction barring violations of the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933. The resolution finalizes a June agreement for Ripple to pay a $125 million penalty.
The conclusion of the multi-year dispute coincided with a more than 10% jump in XRP, lifting the token to $3.31.
XRP price history: Can XRP hit $10?
Between 2012 and 2018, XRP underwent dramatic price changes. Initially valued at less than $0.01 in 2012, it saw minimal activity until Ripple Labs began forging partnerships with financial institutions between 2014 and 2016, though prices remained under $0.01.
The 2017 cryptocurrency boom marked a turning point, with XRP surging from $0.006 to over $1.00 by December, driven by growing interest in Ripple’s technology and speculative trading. In January 2018, XRP hit its all-time high of $3.84 during peak market enthusiasm.
However, the broader market crash that year saw XRP’s value plummet to $0.60 by February and stabilize around $0.30-$0.40 by year-end. This period underscored XRP’s growth and vulnerability to market trends and speculation.
XRP experienced a significant price surge in 2021, but its momentum waned throughout 2022. By Nov. 30, 2024, XRP was trading at $1.94 per token.
Unlike Ethereum, which consistently achieved new all-time highs, XRP has lagged behind. Its price spikes occurred later than most other cryptocurrencies, peaking in early 2021 instead of late 2020.
The delay was largely attributed to the U.S. SEC’s legal complaint against Ripple in November 2020, which caused XRP’s price to drop sharply from $0.70 to $0.20, creating uncertainty around the token’s future.
2025 was a pivotal year for XRP and the broader cryptocurrency market. The early surge in risk appetite gradually gave way to a much more fragile sentiment. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $126,210.50 on October 6, 2025, while XRP reached $3.65, clearing its path towards the $4 milestone.
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Since then, the market has gone downhill. The October $19 billion liquidation event has wiped out much of XRP’s price gains. XRP, which climbed to No. 3 by market cap earlier, has moved down to No. 5. This puts a major obstacle on XRP’s way to $10 mark.
Bitcoin vs. XRP: Advantages of XRP Ledger (XRPL)
XRPL is a decentralized public blockchain enabling quick transfers of XRP, fiat currencies and digital assets, open to all for development.
Jed McCaleb, along with Arthur Britto and David Schwartz, established Ripple Labs in 2012 with the vision of creating XRP Ledger (XRPL).
This initiative aimed to develop a robust ledger technology capable of supporting not only the native digital asset, XRP, but also serving as a global payment infrastructure.
Ripple Labs aimed to tackle the inefficiencies and delays inherent in traditional financial systems by introducing a decentralized ledger capable of settling transactions in seconds.
Benefits | XRP | Bitcoin |
| Fast | 3-5 seconds to settle | 500 seconds to settle |
| Low-Cost | $0.0002/tx | $0.50/tx |
| Scalable | 1,500 tx per second | 3 tx per second |
This represented a significant departure from Bitcoin’s proof-of-work model, as XRPL implemented a unique consensus mechanism known as the “XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol”.
Ripple Labs introduced XRPL to address traditional financial system inefficiencies, utilizing the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol instead of Bitcoin’s proof of work. This protocol ensures transaction order and validity without energy-intensive mining.
The Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA) underpins XRPL, determining valid transactions collaboratively among validators. Unlike Bitcoin’s PoW, RPCA is eco-friendly and fosters faster transaction confirmation.
Validators, a subset of nodes, validate transactions to prevent fraud in XRP Ledger. Nodes maintain ledger copies, ensuring decentralization and network integrity. This structure enables secure, rapid transactions on XRPL.
XRP Ledger (XRP) prioritizes scalability and rapid transaction settlement, capable of processing a significant volume of transactions per second. With its ability to finalize transactions within seconds, the ledger is well-suited for diverse applications requiring fast and efficient transaction execution.
XRP ETFs: Will BlackRock step in?
On Wednesday, November 19, Bitwise officially submitted its Form 8-A for the spot XRP ETF after much anticipation from the XRP community.
The filings, which have once again put XRP in the spotlight, will see the investment product launch sooner than usual with the ticker “XRP.” While the application aligns with necessary regulations implemented by the SEC, it is expected to launch on Nov. 20 and will be listed for trading on the NYSE.
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$XRP has met the expectations of analysts, pulling in a massive $107 million in inflows on its first day of trading despite the broad crypto market slowdown.
While this marks a successful launch for the Bitwise XRP ETF despite the prolonged crypto market downturn, it has also emerged as one of the notable and strongest ETF launches this year.
The ETF’s debut also coincided with a dramatic rise in network activity. XRP exchange inflows surged 762%, climbing from 1.34 million the day before to 11.57 million on launch day.
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However, the ETF launch failed to save XRP price from falling. The Ripple-linked cryptocurrency has plunged by a whopping 16% over that week.
Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management, predicts that BlackRock will eventually file for both XRP and Solana ETFs.
Geraci argues it would be illogical for BlackRock to ignore two of the top five non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Currently, Franklin Templeton is the largest firm to enter the XRP ETF race, while Fidelity Investments filed for a Solana ETF in March.
21Shares, a prominent European issuer known for managing numerous crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) globally, has already teased the debut of its U.S. spot XRP ETF (TOXR).
Where will Bitcoin price go in 2026?
As XRP price dropped below significant $2 mark, two questions remain: how low can it fall and how quickly will XRP bounce back. Both answers will depend on general investors’ confidence.
Some analyst expect a potential correction in 2026. The S&P 500 recently ended a streak of 138 consecutive days closing above its 50-day moving average.
However, major bubbles usually burst amid extreme euphoria, when investors believe “this time is different”. That does not describe the current mood: the CNN Money fear-greed index was in extreme fear just weeks ago and has only recently returned to neutral. After a short pause and internal rotation, the market may continue rising in Q1–Q2 2026.
Legendary trader Peter Brandt has recently warned that Bitcoin may still face a deeper correction, noting that all previous bull markets have ended in a similar way.
He points out that major bull cycles have typically been preceded by price corrections of 75% or more. Since Bitcoin’s launch in 2010, there have been five such cycles. In each case, price followed a steep, curved parabolic rise, eventually broke below that curve, and then entered a sharp and prolonged correction.
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Brandt compares late 2025 to late 2021 in reverse: prices falling while traditional indexes like the S&P 500 remain stable. The main issue is that a lot of assets already trade as if rates are going to drop quickly. Crypto followed the same logic, ignoring that future cuts may already be in the chart.
Brandt’s main thesis is that Bitcoin’s explosive growth is slowing down over time. It is not dying, but it is maturing. This essentially means that each “bull cycle” is less powerful than the last.
Despite the slowing exponential growth, Peter Brandt predicted that the next major bull cycle could still carry BTC toward the $200,000 to $250,000 level. However, the massive rally will not happen in the near term, and Bitcoin might need to fall as low as $50,000 first to achieve this target.
XRP price prediction: Another breakout in 2026?
XRP sceptic Peter Brandt has ialready issued a bearish XRP prediction in July. This time he is pointing to a possible head and shoulders (H&S) top forming on the weekly chart. For Brandt, if traders see the April 7 price spike as just a random anomaly, it looks like a classic topping formation.
The chart shows XRP recently dropping into a tight consolidation range, with support just under the $2.00 mark, exactly where the neckline of this possible head and shoulders pattern is. If this is confirmed, it could mean that the late-2024 rally has reached its peak.
On the whole, the XRP price shot up from late 2024 and broke out of a multi-year wedge, leading to a massive vertical run that cooled off around the $3.20 level. Since then, it has been forming a high-tight flag, and the risk now is whether that structure resolves higher or collapses back into the breakout zone.
Fibonacci extension levels, a commonly used tool in technical analysis, suggest that XRP could potentially reach up to $18 or $20.
Standard Chartered forecasts that XRP could reach $12.50 by the end of 2028. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, projects XRP at $5.50 in 2024, $8 in 2026, $10.40 in 2027, and $12.50 by late 2028.
That path implies a gain of more than 500% over the next three years. Standard Chartered also suggests XRP could surpass Ethereum in market capitalization, becoming the second-largest cryptocurrency by late 2028.
The call followed the launch of the first U.S. XRP ETF, which does not offer direct exposure to the token. Instead, it uses swap-based instruments designed to track XRP’s price, making it a distinctive product in the digital asset market.
The Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund recently secured SEC approval under the Generic Listing Standards, bringing to market a multi-asset exchange-traded product that includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano.
Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz has predicted that 2026 could potentially be a great year for crypto. He claims that Bitcoin would need to reclaim $100,000 in order to start gaining momentum.
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According to Novogratz, extreme apathy often indicates a bottom because it means all the sellers have likely already sold. He views this lack of hype as a bullish setup for 2026 because the market isn’t overheated.
In a recent report, Coinbase points to an earlier liquidity boost, with reserve growth expected to continue through April 2026. The Federal Reserve’s shift from balance sheet runoff to net injections could, according to Coinbase, support crypto markets.
Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, has also argued that the four-year cycle theory is effectively over. He expects a major bull run next year, saying, “Everything is lining up for a massive 2026. It’s stunning.”
In any case, XRP has been viewed as an underperformer since 2020. Despite the massive 2025 bull run, the expected $10 mark hasn’t been reached yet. However, XRP performance in 2026 will largely depend on general market conditions.