Prediction: XRP Will Be Worth $4 in 1 Year

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, reached a record high price of $3.84 on Jan. 4, 2018. That marked a gain of more than 70,000% over its previous five years.

That rally was driven by the broader crypto boom of 2017-2018, a buying frenzy for XRP in South Korea, and a belief that Ripple Labs -- whose founders created XRP -- would integrate the token into more of its fintech partnerships. XRP was also listed on more major crypto exchanges, and XRP-based funds were rolled out.

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But by June 2022, the crypto's price had sunk as low as $0.31. In 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple Labs for selling XRP to fund its own expansion. Ripple subsequently lost several of its top customers, XRP was delisted from the major exchanges, and crypto firms abandoned their XRP-based funds. Rising interest rates exacerbated that pressure by broadly driving investors away from speculative cryptocurrencies.

Yet XRP now trades at about $3. Let's see why it bounced back and why it might finally break through its all-time high over the next 12 months and rally toward $4.

Why did XRP's price soar over the past three years?

The SEC's lawsuit, which claimed Ripple had illegally sold its XRP as unlicensed securities to raise cash, finally ended this August. Ripple was only fined $125 million, which was much lower than the SEC's original demand for a $2 billion fine.

The court also ruled that XRP tokens sold on public exchanges were not securities, but those that were sold to institutional investors were securities. It also ended an injunction that barred Ripple from directly selling XRP to institutional investors.

After those legal headwinds dissipated, the major exchanges relisted XRP. Several crypto firms filed their applications for new XRP spot price exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Declining interest rates in 2024 and 2025 also amplified those gains as the "crypto winter" ended.

XRP also gained more momentum as a bridge currency that facilitates conversions between two volatile or illiquid assets on Ripple's network. These types of transfers (which don't require middleman conversions to fiat currencies) are faster, cheaper, and more secure than traditional bank transfers. The XRP Ledger, which serves as the foundation of Ripple's payment platform, also gained more traction as an alternative to traditional transfers by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

Why could XRP's price soar toward $4?

Looking ahead, the SEC should reach a decision on the recent influx of XRP ETFs in October or November. The approvals of those funds could legitimize XRP's position as a blue-chip cryptocurrency alongside Bitcoin and Ether while drawing in more retail and institutional investors.

Ripple applied for a U.S. bank charter this July. Its expansion into a digital bank would support the increased use of XRP as a bridge currency. Ripple's launch of its own stablecoin, Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD), could attract more international users seeking to hedge their savings against hyperinflation, but who have limited access to real U.S. dollars.

XRP still doesn't gain a lot of attention as a development platform because it doesn't natively support smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps (dApps). Instead, it only supports lightweight "hooks," which are used to develop simpler programs.

However, that could soon change with the development of sidechains that would add support for Ethereum-based smart contracts on the XRP Ledger. Ripple might make some announcements regarding those sidechains at its annual Swell event in New York in early November -- and XRP might gain more traction as a developer-focused cryptocurrency.

Lastly, the broader crypto market should continue to warm up if the Federal Reserve continues to reduce its benchmark rates throughout the rest of 2025 and 2026. That incoming "crypto summer" could drive XRP's price toward $4.

Should you invest in XRP today?

XRP still can't be directly valued by its scarcity or its growth potential among developers like Bitcoin and Ether, respectively. However, it's tethered to Ripple's expanding fintech ecosystem, and it has several catalysts on the horizon.

Therefore, this little token might still be worth accumulating after its huge gains over the past three years.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.