Could Buying XRP Today Set You Up for Life?

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is dangerously close to dipping below the $1 price level. It now trades for just $1.40, a steep 64% discount from its all-time high of $3.84.

But that may be a good thing. It means crypto investors can load up on XRP at fantastically low prices. If analysts are right, and XRP skyrockets in value, then buying this cryptocurrency today could help to set you up for life.

XRP price targets

It's relatively easy to find super-bullish price targets for XRP, ranging from $100 to $10,000. For the most part, though, these are simply pie-in-the-sky estimates and can be safely ignored.

A more practical price target for XRP comes from Standard Chartered. Back in 2025, it suggested that XRP would be worth $8 by the end of 2026, $10.40 by the end of 2027, and $12.50 by the end of 2028. Standard Chartered has since scaled back some of its expectations, but still thinks that XRP has an outside chance of becoming a $28 coin by the end of 2030.

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Given its current price of $1.40, that means XRP could theoretically generate 20x returns by the end of the decade. That's impressive, to be sure. But is it enough to set you up for life? You would still need to invest $50,000 today to become a crypto millionaire by 2030.

Stress-testing XRP price targets

The market cap of any cryptocurrency is derived by multiplying the total circulating coin supply by the current spot price. Right now, XRP has a total circulating coin supply of 61.8 billion coins, and a spot price of $1.40, so its market cap is approximately $85 billion.

That's a good jumping-off point for stress-testing price targets. If XRP increases in value by 20 times, then it would be worth approximately $1.6 trillion. That's equivalent to the valuation of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). Can XRP really pass Bitcoin to become the most valuable cryptocurrency on the planet?

Moreover, even a relatively modest 3x increase in price to the $4 price level might be asking too much. If that happens, then XRP would have the same market cap as Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), which is currently valued at $255 billion.

That might be the reason why XRP made a serious run at the $4 price level two different times last year, but fell short twice. The market is simply unwilling to give XRP a higher valuation than Ethereum.

So, not only do we need to hope that XRP finds the right set of catalysts to send it soaring higher, but we also need to hope that Ethereum also finds the right set of catalysts. And for Ethereum to soar in value, it will also need Bitcoin to soar in value.

So, if you are hoping for XRP to set you up for life, you need to be rooting for Bitcoin. It is the market bellwether, and no major cryptocurrency is going to soar in value if Bitcoin isn't too. So keep your expectations in check. As long as Bitcoin remains mired below $100,000 price level, XRP is unlikely to deliver life-changing wealth.

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