XRP (XRP-USD) has spent most of 2025 trading near $2.40, but new forecasts from major banks and market analysts are putting bold numbers on the table. Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick expects XRP to climb 73% annually over the next three years, reaching $12.50 by 2028, while Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the token could capture 14% of SWIFT’s global payments volume within five years.
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This is an ambitious view for a token that’s still fighting for relevance after a long legal and regulatory grind. Yet optimism is running high again, with the long-delayed spot XRP ETF approvals expected before year-end and institutional investors starting to pay attention.
XRP Finds Its Next Catalyst in ETF Momentum
The biggest near-term driver may come from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. After months of delay, the SEC is expected to approve multiple spot XRP ETFs before the end of 2025. These products would give both retail and institutional investors direct exposure to XRP without relying on crypto exchanges or complex custody arrangements.
Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg estimates the funds could attract $5 billion in inflows during their first month, although that may be optimistic given that Bitcoin ETFs drew roughly $4 billion at launch. Still, even a fraction of that could change the liquidity profile of XRP overnight, potentially setting off a rally similar to Bitcoin’s 127% surge after its own ETF approval in early 2024.
Ripple Builds the Long Game for Payments
Ripple continues to push XRP as a cross-border settlement tool, using the token alongside its stablecoin RLUSD to move funds globally. Garlinghouse believes XRP could handle a significant portion of SWIFT’s $140 trillion payment network within five years. Transactions on Ripple’s rails settle in seconds and cost fractions of a cent. These are clear advantages over legacy banking wires.
But there are limits. Using a volatile token as a bridge currency introduces risk, and XRP’s on-chain transaction volume has fallen throughout 2025, hinting at cooling enterprise demand. Ripple’s new stablecoin aims to fix that, but it faces stiff competition from giants like USDC (USDC-USD) and Tether (USDT-USD).
What It Means for Investors
If ETFs unlock new demand and Ripple gains even modest payment traction, XRP could climb meaningfully from current levels. A realistic scenario, according to several analysts, would see XRP doubling to around $6 by 2030, which is a 150% gain from today.
This kind of move would still require patience. XRP has dropped more than 20% from its highs five times in the past three years and remains roughly 30% below its 2024 peak. The path higher, if it comes, will not be smooth.
But in a market where institutional money is finally circling back to crypto, XRP’s combination of liquidity, brand, and upcoming ETFs could make it one of the next major beneficiaries of the post-Bitcoin trade. At the time of writing, XRP is sitting at $2.4510.
