decrypt.co
The native token of the $XRP Ledger and fourth-largest crypto by market value could hit $5.50 a piece by the end of 2025, the bank’s digital assets researcher Geoff Kendrick said in a note. $XRP is a decentralized open-source blockchain created by the founders of Ripple Labs.
$XRP was recently trading for $1.80, according to CoinGecko, after dropping in price by 6% over a 24-hour period.
“We think $XRP price gains can keep pace with Bitcoin in real terms,” wrote Kendrick, adding that $XRP is “uniquely positioned at the heart of one of the fastest-growing uses for digital assets—facilitation of cross-border and cross-currency payments.”
Kendrick added in the note that $XRP could hit $12.50 before President Trump leaves office.
$XRP was created by the founders of fintech company Ripple Labs, which focuses on moving money across borders in a faster, more efficient way.
Ripple has become closely associated with the tough regulatory crackdown of the Biden Administration from 2020-2024. The SEC under ex-Chair Gary Gensler went hard after major crypto companies, including Ripple.
In 2020, the financial watchdog sued the fintech, alleging it had sold unregistered securities in the form of $XRP.
But a federal district judge in 2023 wrote in a partial ruling that programmatic sales of $XRP to retail investors did not qualify as securities, which was primarily interpreted as a win by the crypto community.
The Ripple team now appears to be close with the Trump Administration and is hoping a slew of $XRP-related ETFs get the green light under the SEC’s new crypto-friendly leadership.
$XRP hit an all-time high back in 2018 of $3.40 and came close to that level again in January ahead of President Trump’s inauguration, briefly touching $3.38.
On Tuesday, Ripple announced that it was acquiring crypto-friendly prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, marking one of the largest deals in the crypto industry's history.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair and James Rubin