Ripple (XRP) saw its price explode in the wake of Trump’s November election win, surging by 555% in the two-and-a-half months between the election date and the January inauguration.
Fueling the rally was a growing belief that a Trump administration would usher in a friendlier regulatory climate, especially with expectations of a shake-up at the SEC, which at the time was entangled in a legal battle with Ripple over allegations that XRP had been sold as an unregistered security.
That thesis proved right. Just last month, the SEC officially dropped the case, clearing a major cloud hanging over the crypto.
Now, according to Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick, the stage is set for XRP’s next leg higher. Kendrick forecasts XRP to hit $5.50 by the end of 2025, climb to $8.00 in 2026, and eventually reach $12.50 by 2028, a potential gain of roughly 470% from today’s levels, with that price holding steady into 2029.
“We think these gains are sustainable, not just because of recent leadership changes at the SEC but also because 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 explained.
In this respect, Kendrick points out that the XRP Ledger (XRPL – for which XRP is the native token) functions similarly to the primary use case of stablecoins like Tether: facilitating blockchain-based financial transactions that were historically handled by traditional financial (TradFi) institutions. Over the past two years, this use of stablecoins has increased at a yearly rate of 50%, and Kendrick expects stablecoin transaction volumes could grow tenfold within the next four years.
“We think this bodes well for XRPL’s throughput growth, given the similar use cases for stablecoins and XRPL,” the analyst further said.
Although XRP faces challenges such as a relatively small developer community and a low-fee structure, Kendrick believes these factors will be outweighed by the positives noted above.
The forecast for XRP also factors in the assumption Bitcoin (BTC) – which nearly always leads the way – will hit $500,000 by 2028. XRP’s surge will also have another effect – it will knock Ethereum off its position as the second most valuable crypto, excluding stablecoins.
Kendrick also laid out the regulatory developments affecting XRP. He expects the SEC to give the go-ahead for a spot XRP ETF in 3Q25, potentially attracting between $4 billion and $8 billion in inflows over the course of its first year.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.