Is XRP the Best Cryptocurrency to Buy With $1,000 Right Now?

For much of the year, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has been one of the top-performing major cryptocurrencies. In July, XRP hit a 52-week high of $3.65, and it looked like it was ready to soar in value in the second half of 2025.

But alas, the past 90 days have turned the narrative about XRP upside down. XRP now trades for just $2.40, a decline of 34%. Moreover, XRP has badly underperformed both Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past 90 days.

The good news is that there are three key catalysts that could push XRP higher in the final months of 2025. Let's take a closer look.

New spot XRP ETFs

The first catalyst is the imminent launch of new spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Several investment firms -- including Grayscale, Bitwise, and WisdomTree -- have applications pending with the SEC. These were supposed to be approved in mid-October.

However, the federal government shutdown has now disrupted this review process, and that could be one reason why investors have soured on XRP. These spot ETFs were supposed to result in a huge influx of new money surging into XRP, sending the price of the cryptocurrency higher. With the approvals now on hold, that influx of new money is now also on hold.

Image source: Getty Images.

When the new spot Bitcoin ETFs launched last January, Bitcoin saw a huge spike in price. So investors were expecting the same phenomenon to happen with XRP as well. While XRP does not have nearly the same appeal for investors as Bitcoin, it is arguably one of only a handful of altcoins that has interest from both retail and institutional investors.

The emergence of new XRP treasury companies

At the same time, the past six months have seen the creation of new digital asset treasury companies that do nothing except buy and hoard XRP. The first example was VivoPower International, which announced plans at the end of May to raise $121 million to acquire XRP. Other companies have raised tens of millions of dollars, all with the intent of buying XRP for their balance sheet.

Theoretically, all of this buying should help to push up the price of XRP. This has been the case with Bitcoin and Ethereum treasury companies, and should be the case with XRP treasury companies as well. Think of these digital asset treasury companies as a new source of constant demand for XRP.

That's why I'm excited about the recent launch of Evernorth, a new publicly traded company that will primarily act as a vehicle for buying and hoarding XRP. It is backed by Ripple, the company behind the XRP token, as well as Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen. All told, Evernorth has $1 billion in new commitments from outside investors to buy XRP.

Possible XRP integration with bank payment networks

Finally, there's the much-discussed possibility that the XRP blockchain payment network could one day be integrated into the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network for international bank transfers and cross-border payments.

At a company event in June, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggested that XRP might account for 14% of global SWIFT transaction volume within the next five years. Given that trillions of dollars flow through SWIFT every year, that's a big chunk of change. That would create another source of new demand for the XRP token, sending its price higher.

The only caveat here is that SWIFT appears to be hedging its bets on the future of blockchain technology, and has said specifically that XRP is not the only blockchain payment network under consideration. There's also growing debate over whether stablecoins, which are typically pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, might be a better way to implement cross-border payments than altcoins (which can fluctuate wildly in value).

How high can XRP go this year?

In April, Standard Chartered predicted that XRP might hit a price of $5.50 by the end of 2025. That now looks like wishful thinking. However, online prediction markets are still giving XRP a 31% chance of hitting $3.75 this year.

Given XRP's current price of $2.40, that's a nice 50% return on your investment. If you have a high tolerance for risk and are willing to play the long game, then XRP might just be the best cryptocurrency to buy with $1,000 right now.

Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends WisdomTree. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.