One of the largest potential use cases for cryptocurrency is in the financial sector. Financial institutions send and receive billions of dollars every day, and the process can be slow, costly and complex. Several cryptocurrency projects are looking for ways to create transaction systems for institutions that are fast, cheap and compliant. Ripple is one of these projects that is hoping to cross the border between crypto and traditional banking.
Ripple is a crypto project that aims to provide secure and fast global payments. It offers transaction costs that are fractions of a cent and settles transactions within seconds. Additionally, it advertises sustainable practices, such as being carbon-neutral and having low energy costs.
The XRP token acts as an intermediate step between two currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which are currently not interchangeable. Ripple transfers ETH to XRP, then the XRP to BTC and sends the tokens. It automates the process of transferring tokens across chains in a faster and cheaper way.
XRP uses servers on a Federated Consensus Mechanism to validate transactions. Each server processes transactions according to a prescribed set of rules. A transaction can only be processed if every validator on the chain agrees with the transaction. The 150 validators working on the chain include universities, businesses and individuals.
In late 2022, XRP trades for around $0.35, with a market capitalization of around $35 billion. Its all-time-high price was around $3.40, with a market cap of around $130 billion in January 2018. Its largest competitor is Stellar Lumens (XLM), another protocol offering similar services.
Nicole Willing is a financial journalist for Capital.com and has been covering commodities, forex, stocks and fintech since 2000. She sees two key events as potential catalysts for XRP. First, the XRP co-founder, Jed McCaleb, finally finished selling off his tokens after leaving the company in 2013. He has sold over 9 billion tokens during this time span, so his exit will allow for the downward pressure to ease up. Additionally, XRP had a lawsuit filed against them by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which claimed that XRP was a security that had been illegally traded. A ruling on the case is expected soon, and some believe that the outcome will favor Ripple.
Mitesh Shah is the CEO of Omnia Markets, a cryptocurrency analytics firm. He sees the lawsuit as a hindrance to growth, regardless of the outcome. As of right now, it is challenging for U.S. investors to purchase XRP because of the lawsuit. The decrease in demand may cause global investors to also sell, leading to a further decline in price.
2020s Ripple (XRP) Price Predictions
Financial advice gurus use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate 10+ year cryptocurrency predictions, but these forecasts should be taken with a grain of salt. However, they can show a feasible range of outcomes or show what the general market consensus looks like.
Cryptopolitan sees XRP reaching a high of $0.68 in 2023, and AMB Crypto predicts the token to reach $1.68, with a bearish prediction of $0.28. However, there is a high likelihood that these predictions will be very far off of the mark.
Bitnation predicts XRP to be worth $1.18 in 2024, though its algorithm relies solely on technical indicators and does not take into account externalities, such as the SEC case.
AMB Crypto has an average prediction of $2.33 for XRP in 2025, and Cryptopolitan sees the price appreciating as high as $1.41.
According to AMB Crypto, XRP could reach an average price of $3 in 2026. However, this prediction should not be given much weight.
Trading Education has a bullish estimate on XRP, predicting an all-time high of $17.13 in 2027. However, this prediction depends on Ripple becoming the “go-to platform for building blockchain projects,” an unlikely event.
Changelly predicts a price of $8.91 by the end of 2030, and Bitnation predicts an average price of $3.34. These price levels are quite a bit smaller than Trading Education’s estimate of $31.81.
Though several cryptocurrency exchanges have delisted XRP in light of the lawsuit with the SEC, eToro, OKX, Binance and Crypto.com still offer the asset. To get started, create an account with one of these platforms and verify your identity.
eToro offers a variety of features and is known for its analytics, ease of use and low fees. It allows paper trading to test out trade ideas in a riskless environment. You can trade 30 of the top cryptocurrencies and stocks on eToro.
This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) and USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections and not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.
Few experts see XRP ever reaching $10. However, those who believe the token can reach such a price place a heavy emphasis on a positive SEC ruling for Ripple and a bear market reversal.
Trading Education sees not only $10 as a possible target but $25 by 2030.
If XRP were to reach $10, the market cap would be over $500 billion, larger than the market cap of companies such as Tesla and Visa.
A more reasonable price target would be $1. At this level, the market cap would be around $50 billion, closer to that of Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).
Hardware wallets are physical devices that store the keys needed to send crypto and are considered the safest way to store crypto. Ledger offers Nano S Plus and Nano X models. The Nano S Plus is the more basic hardware wallet offering, with everything you need to keep your cryptocurrencies safe. The Nano X has even-greater ease of use, with Bluetooth connectivity and a larger screen. Both wallets support more than 1,000 different cryptocurrencies on multiple blockchains including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dogecoin and all ERC-20 tokens.
Software wallets store private keys online and are password-protected, which is not as safe as a hardware wallet but is still secure. MetaMask is the leading software wallet and offers compatibility with a large number of blockchains. It is also easily usable through a Google Chrome extension.
Bonus Section: Keep an eye out for new financial institutions that Ripple partners with, as this can influence the price.
The crypto markets are all over the place, with some tokens collapsing because of FTX’s recent insolvency issues and others surging.
If you want to see where your favorite tokens are, make sure to check out Benzinga’s constantly updating price table.
XRP’s success depends on multiple factors. If the project can attract new institutions and create new use cases, it could grow. Increased regulation in the crypto sector could cause many to look towards Ripple for automation and adherence support. If you are bullish on these factors, then XRP may be a good investment for you.
