History Says This Cryptocurrency Could Go Parabolic After the 2026 Midterm Elections

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) may trade at just $1.35, but it has had several periods in the recent past when it has delivered truly explosive returns in a very short time.

That's why XRP is currently my top pick for the one cryptocurrency that could go parabolic after the 2026 midterm elections.

A history lesson from 2024

Just think back to November 2024, in the days leading up to the presidential election. At the time, XRP was trading at just $0.50, and many investors had given up on it entirely. A long-running SEC case against Ripple (the company behind the XRP token) showed no signs of ending, and XRP was largely trading sideways throughout 2024.

But within a matter of weeks, XRP went parabolic. Between November 2024 and January 2025, XRP soared from $0.50 to $3.40, a gain of 580%. As a result, top investors rushed to put out aggressive new price targets for XRP. Some even think XRP might break through the $10 mark by the end of the year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Those gains can be directly chalked up to the pro-crypto agenda of the incoming presidential administration. After Donald Trump won the election, investors rewarded cryptocurrencies across the board with much higher valuations. Bitcoin soon crossed through the $100,000 mark, and cryptocurrencies such as Solana hit new all-time highs in January.

Can history repeat?

As longtime investors know, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Just because XRP has gone parabolic in the past doesn't mean that it will do so again.

The good news, though, is that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been a regular at White House crypto events, and his vision for a modernized, blockchain-based payment system has attracted the attention of top Trump administration officials. Ripple is arguably one of the top companies at the center of President Trump's vision to make America "the crypto capital of the world."

So it's quite possible that, if pro-crypto candidates rack up wins in the 2026 midterms, it could be off to the races for XRP. All told, the crypto industry has poured close to $200 million into the midterm elections, so there's obviously a lot at stake.

Standard Chartered currently has a $12.50 price target on XRP for 2028. So it's within the range of possible outcomes that XRP could 10x in value over 24 months.

What is the likelihood of XRP going parabolic?

The only problem, of course, is that XRP has perennially overpromised and underdelivered. Despite past bouts of explosive price performance, it still trades for just $1.35. Its all-time high, after more than a decade of trading, is just $3.84. So keep your expectations in check.

Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.