3 Reasons XRP Could Still Have 177% Upside From Here

Don't sleep on XRP (CRYPTO: XRP). Yes, the world's fifth-largest cryptocurrency is currently down 60% from its 52-week high of $3.65. And, yes, XRP has gotten off to a slow start to 2026.

But XRP might have 177% upside potential in 2026. That's based on a current price of $1.44 and a target of $4. Here are three factors needed for this to happen.

ETF inflows

As long as money continues to flow into the new spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the only possible direction is up. The same phenomenon happened with the new spot Bitcoin ETFs when they were launched in January 2024. A tsunami of new money flowing into the spot Bitcoin ETFs helped push up the price of the crypto in early 2024, and the same thing is going to happen with XRP.

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There are now five U.S-listed spot XRP ETFs and they are seeing a huge surge of new inflows. On May 12, they posted their highest daily influx since Jan. 5, a clear sign that big institutional investors are once again looking for ways to get exposure to XRP. A total of $1.35 billion has now flowed into these ETFs since their launch late last year.

Institutional adoption

A second big factor is institutional adoption. XRP has always been known as "the banker's coin," and for good reason. The goal has always been to get as many large banks and financial institutions to use the XRP blockchain as possible. And the pace of institutional adoption appears to be ramping up.

At the end of last year, for example, SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) included Ripple, the company behind the XRP token, in a high-profile test of blockchain technology for cross-border payments. And this year, Mastercard included Ripple in its high-profile Crypto Partner Program, with the goal of using blockchains to bolster payments.

Asset tokenization

The third big factor is real-world asset tokenization. This one's a mouthful, but it simply refers to the transformation of traditional financial assets (such as stocks and bonds) into digital assets that can live on the blockchain. The goal is better liquidity, more transparency, cheaper transactions, and greater efficiency.

The good news here is that the XRP blockchain ledger is increasingly being used for high-profile tokenization projects. The latest one that everyone is buzzing about is a project from Mastercard and JPMorgan Chase that involves tokenized U.S. Treasury debt. This was only a pilot project, but it's a good sign of what could be coming next.

Is a $4 price realistic?

There's reason to be skeptical about XRP suddenly skyrocketing to hit a price of $4 this year. On the Polymarket prediction platform, for example, the chances of this happening are only 12%.

So a lot has to go right. In short, all three of these factors need to deliver as planned. If that happens, then XRP could be ready to soar 177% or higher.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.