Could Buying XRP Today Set You Up for Life?

Every investor has had the dream of buying a small stake in a compelling asset with perfect timing and vision, and then suddenly seeing a huge return that makes retirement look closer than your next vacation. With XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), that story is as tempting to believe in as ever.

But there's a big difference between a windfall and a durable plan. Can XRP be the investment that funds your future?

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What a realistic upside case looks like

Let's start by setting our expectations appropriately.

Today, XRP's market cap is about $181 billion. For it to set someone up for life, they would need to invest a substantial sum of capital and the coin would need to make huge returns, preferably over a few years rather than an eternity.

For XRP to gain 10-fold from here, it would require consistently strong execution across its technology, relations with regulators, distribution avenues, and target users in financial institutions. All of those things are very conceivable for the chain to accomplish and maintain over a long horizon, but it's certainly not something to anchor a retirement plan on. Even a strong multibagger often needs meaningful starting capital to be life-changing, and XRP is likely too mature of an asset to deliver outsized returns in the near term, at least for those who can invest a relatively normal amount of money (less than $10,000) upfront.

But what would have to go right for it to deliver big returns?

First, XRP must remain attractive to institutions that care about regulatory compliance, settlement finality, and low transaction fees. The XRP Ledger (XRPL) includes issuer-controlled features such as authorized trust lines and freeze functions that let regulated institutions enforce transfer rules without bolting on bespoke smart contracts. Those controls are table stakes for attracting serious financial participants, and, for what it's worth, the XRPL is significantly ahead of the game relative to its competitors.

Second, market infrastructure on the XRPL needs to deepen to provide the liquidity that its target customers in banking and currency exchange houses need to transact in the size that they prefer. On this front, the chain's Automated Market Maker functionality went live in early 2024, strengthening on-chain liquidity tools that market participants can tap, and liquidity has generally trended higher over time.

Finally, early signs of real-world asset (RWA) activity on XRPL are emerging, and they will need to continue for the coin to have a shot at making investors a lot richer. As of Oct. 2, total tokenized RWA value on XRPL was roughly $364 million, up about 13% during the 30-day period ended Oct. 2, with 22 listed assets, including U.S. Treasuries, and rising holder counts. The absolute numbers are still small here, but the trend is good so far.

Shift your mindset

XRP will probably not make the most dramatic dreams of investors come true. It is still a worthwhile investment. And with the right strategy, it can make you wealthier.

Treat XRP as a long-term holding whose upside comes from continued institutionalization of payments and asset tokenization, not as a single-asset retirement plan or lottery ticket. If you want exposure, build it gradually with dollar-cost averaging, size it modestly relative to your portfolio, and track tangible milestones like its entries into regulated markets, its addition of important financial clients, the value and volume of tokenized assets under custody on its network, and the breadth and depth of the chain's stablecoins.

Furthermore, be wary of competition that will pose a risk to the coin's growth. Emerging stablecoin-oriented chains could be particularly challenging if they manage to offer users a better value proposition for transferring money across borders or processing payments.

Nonetheless, if the right bricks keep stacking up, as they have so far in the coin's history, a big price gain over several years is very much within the realm of possibility. That means XRP can help build wealth as part of a diversified portfolio, even if it will not do the whole job of making you rich by itself.

Alex Carchidi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.