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It's already one of the largest cryptocurrencies, and it could have serious untapped potential.
If you've been looking for crypto investment opportunities outside of buying Bitcoin, you may have come across XRP. It's sometimes referred to as Ripple, but that's actually the name of the company that created it.
Although XRP ranks in the top 10 by market cap, it's still far off the highs it reached in early 2018. It's also not available at most U.S. crypto exchanges due to an SEC lawsuit.
Cryptocurrencies are usually high risk, high reward, but XRP is even riskier than the typical coin. Let's look at what it does and how to decide if you should buy any.
What is XRP?
XRP is the native cryptocurrency for Ripple, a payment technology released in 2012 and intended to make international money transfers faster, cheaper, and easier.
In a best-case scenario, Ripple would replace SWIFT and become the method of choice for international money transfers. SWIFT's market dominance means that won't happen anytime soon, but there are several advantages that could help Ripple chip away at it. Here are the biggest benefits of Ripple as a payment technology:
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- Transaction costs are extremely low. Each transaction costs 0.0001 XRP. At the current price of XRP, that's a fraction of a penny.
- Transactions process quickly, with the average transaction taking just five seconds.
- XRP can be used by banks to facilitate trades of one currency for another. Instead of holding various currencies, they could hold XRP and swap currencies at a lower cost.
Since XRP is Ripple's cryptocurrency, buying XRP is a way of investing in Ripple. Just like you can buy Ether if you believe in Ethereum, you can do the same with XRP and Ripple.
Ripple has ambitious goals, and it has been making progress on them. According to its website, its RippleNet payments network includes over 300 financial institutions across over 40 countries. That's a start, but SWIFT is still far ahead. It's partnered with over 11,000 financial institutions across over 200 countries.
It's also worth noting that many of the financial institutions partnered with Ripple use RippleNet, but not XRP. The network can be used to process transactions for all kinds of currencies and commodities. Banks that use it aren't required to use XRP, and quite a few don't because of the volatility.
The SEC's lawsuit against Ripple
The most significant obstacle for Ripple and XRP right now is an ongoing SEC lawsuit. On Dec. 21, 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit alleging that Ripple sold $1.3 billion in unregistered securities through its XRP cryptocurrency.
Ripple claims that XRP isn't a security. It has also said that the SEC didn't provide it with proper notice that selling XRP would be considered a securities offering.
One potential outcome is that Ripple and the SEC come to a settlement agreement. Until that happens or there's a ruling, the lawsuit will be a thorn in Ripple's side for several reasons:
- It's keeping Ripple from its goal of going public.
- It has resulted in XRP being unavailable to buy on many major cryptocurrency exchanges.
- It has likely kept XRP's price down. While many cryptocurrencies have blown away their previous prices in 2021, XRP hasn't come near its all-time high of $3.84 in 2018. At the time of writing, it costs less than $1. To be fair, it has still quadrupled investors' money in a year.
Should you buy XRP?
You could invest in XRP if you believe Ripple has potential and that it's likely to reach a favorable outcome in its SEC lawsuit. Keep in mind that it's a high-risk investment, even compared to other cryptocurrencies.
Ripple could prove to be extremely useful. International money transfers between banks can be slow, expensive, and difficult to even set up. Ripple solves those problems, and it has already secured hundreds of partnerships, including many with major financial institutions. There's also a large company behind Ripple that's focused on promoting it and moving it forward.
Despite its potential, there are several reasons to be cautious about buying XRP:
- The SEC lawsuit may have a negative impact on it going forward. It could be determined that Ripple violated securities laws, or the SEC could simply drag the case out as long as possible.
- Ripple's main competition, SWIFT, is already firmly entrenched in the banking industry.
- The success of XRP and Ripple isn't necessarily intertwined. Most of the financial institutions that work with Ripple don't use XRP.
- XRP isn't available for purchase on many of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States.
That last issue with XRP means that if you're interested in buying any, the first step is finding an exchange that sells it. Among the major crypto exchanges, Coinmama and KuCoin are two that offer XRP.
A popular recommendation with any cryptocurrency investment is to only put in what you can afford to lose. That advice is good to follow when buying XRP. It has potential, but there's no guarantee that it will be a success.
FAQs
It's still not too late to buy XRP in 2022, especially if you invest in crypto assets for the long term. The world of crypto assets is unpredictable. Every crypto asset will have its ups and downs throughout the year. So is the case with XRP.
Does XRP have a future? ›
DigitalCoinPrice also has a bullish outlook on XRP's future prices in 2025, predicting that the XRP price could reach $2.60 by the end of 2029, and by 2032 XRP might potentially trade at a maximum price of $6.81.
How high can XRP go realistically? ›
The site says Ripple's average price will be $0.43 in 2022, $0.63 in 2023, $0.91 in 2024 and $1.36 in 2025. The rise will continue in 2026, when XRP could be hitting $2.03, and 2027, when it should be worth $2.95.
Is XRP a buy or hold? ›
USD 0.35 0.03 7.89% Assuming the 90 days trading horizon and your above-average risk tolerance, our recommendation regarding XRP is 'Strong Sell'.
Will XRP reach $10 this year? ›
Can XRP Reach $10? A scant handful of experts predict that XRP can reach $10 in the near future — if ever. If the bear market reverses, XRP could follow the trend of bitcoin and begin to rise again. According to Trading Education, experts agree that $10 or even $25 is achievable for Ripple.
Will XRP coin reach $1? ›
Conclusion. Technology-advanced and widely used coin XRP has promising price growth possibilities, but its current analysis shows that XRP cannot hit $1 in 2023. So, this is a good reason to make a timely decision to invest in D2T, which has a consistent bullish trend.
How high can XRP go in 5 years? ›
Based on the analysis of the costs of XRP by crypto experts, the following maximum and minimum XRP prices are expected in 2026: $3.18 and $2.46. On average, it will be traded at $2.55.
Will banks use XRP? ›
Many international banks are integrated into RippleNet. Any bank joining the network can access several other banks to trade with. Therefore, XRP offers market access to participating banks and their customers.
Will XRP reach $50? ›
The cryptocurrency known as Ripple, officially called XRP, is one of the crypto assets that is aiming to shake up an entire industry – namely, the cross-border payments industry.
...
Conclusion: Is Ripple a Good Investment and What is the Future of Ripple?
| Year | Potential High | Potential Low |
|---|
| 2024-2025 | $50 | $8 |
3 more rowsDepending on where the legal chips fall, it is absolutely possible that XRP's price could skyrocket to $5 or more in 2023. At the same time, a harsher verdict could also send the token far below its current price of $0.36 per token. So in the relatively short term, Ripple's future is almost impossible to nail down.
Interestingly, XRP has a kind of token-burning mechanism built in. With every XRP that is being transacted, a small amount is put up by the sender and is destroyed in the process, reducing this amount from the total supply.
How much will XRP be worth in 10 years? ›
Theoretically, XRP might reach new heights in 10 years if the Ripple business performs well. Most experts agree that Ripple's price can rise to the $250 range–$3 in ten years based on current predictions. According to Ripple Coin News, the price of Ripple might reach $30 in ten years.
What will happen if XRP loses lawsuit? ›
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the crypto company will move to another country if it loses in its legal battle with the SEC.
Will XRP ever recover? ›
Expert's Take On Ripple XRP Price Predictions
According to the latest long-term forecast, Ripple price will hit $0.39 by the end of 2023 and then $1 by the end of 2029. Our Forecast System predicts that XRP could possibly increase in value in the short term by +19% to $0.4138 from $0.3479.
What will XRP hit 2025? ›
As for 2025, Changelly has provided a range between $1.47 to $1.76 at max for XRP. Finder's conclusion from a panel of thirty-six industry experts, is that XRP should be at $3.61 by 2025. It should be noted that not all of those experts agree with that forecast.
How high can XRP GO 2030? ›
Finder's experts had a rather conservative figure for XRP in 2030. They believe that the crypto could hit $4.98 by 2030.
Can Ripple reach $100? ›
Yes, it is possible for Ripple to hit $100, but it is unlikely. And it's even more unlikely for the token to reach $1,000. This is because for XRP to reach $1,000 per coin, its market cap would have to reach at least $100 trillion, which we're very unlikely to see any time soon.
What crypto will explode? ›
8 next cryptocurrencies to explode in 2023
- 1inch. 1inch Network (CRYPTO:1INCH) is a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator. ...
- Ethereum. At first glance, Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) might seem out of place here. ...
- Aave. ...
- SushiSwap. ...
- Monero. ...
- Storj. ...
- Basic Attention Token. ...
- XRP.
Because of its consensus protocol, XRP is able to process transactions in seconds at a low cost and with minimal energy. This makes it one of the more environmentally friendly cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin transactions, on the other hand, aren't efficient.
Could Ripple reach $500? ›
The max supply of XRP is 100,000,000,000. The current supply is 99,991,088,504. If you multiply that by 500 USD, you get a figure that makes RIPPLE the most successful company in the world. Frankly speaking, that's sound impossible.
Thus, XRP is an excellent choice for a thematic investor who buys digital currencies based on a top-down investment approach to diversify their portfolio. XRP's low price has opened up an affordable entry and investment opportunity with higher returns.
Who owns most of XRP? ›
Brad Garlinghouse, the current CEO of Ripple, also owned a significant amount of XRP. However, Forbes did not specify how much. Garlinghouse also held 6.3% of Ripple's stock.
...
Who owns the most Ripple (XRP)?
| Long position overnight fee | -0.0500% |
|---|
| Spread | 60.00 |
2 more rowsAug 14, 2022
Coinbase said the move was “due to low usage” of the assets on the platform.
Can XRP be the next Bitcoin? ›
Is XRP the Next Bitcoin or Ethereum? Some experts believe XRP's capabilities could put it at the same level of adoption and industry respect as the gold standard of crypto, bitcoin, and the number one alt-coin, ethereum. But many other cryptocurrencies sit above it in terms of popularity and market cap right now.
Has Ripple won the lawsuit? ›
Ripple Labs may have won a hard-fought battle in wresting documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it says supports its case against the agency, but that does not mean it will prevail in a $1.3 billion suit against it for selling the XRP XRP +1.3% cryptocurrency as an unregistered security.
How many XRP tokens are left? ›
How Many XRP Coins Are There In Circulation? XRP currently has 45,404 billion tokens in circulation, while its total supply counts 100 billion XRP tokens. Though, Ripple Labs initially owned 55 billion XRP tokens, with the ability to sell 1 billion per month.
Is XRP a good investment 2030? ›
If both the crypto demand and the commercial venture of Ripple are solid, we could see an increase in XRP's valuation to more than $5 per token by 2030. Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries.
Will XRP go up after SEC lawsuit? ›
Experts predict a positive outcome of the lawsuit for Ripple
The final verdict in the ongoing SEC v. Ripple lawsuit is undoubtedly the most highly anticipated in the crypto ecosystem. Experts predict significant movement in XRP price with a positive outcome in the court case.
What happens to my XRP if its delisted? ›
Options for your delisted coins
Those who hold XRP, Bitcoin Cash or Ethereum Classic assets can choose to self-custody the coins, move them to another crypto wallet, onto an exchange, or even sell them.
What happens if XRP become a security? ›
If XRP is deemed a security, the coin could fade away and lose ground even more.
Few cryptocurrencies can boast a lifespan of ten years or more, which makes XRP an intriguing long-term investment. The main use case for XRP is what gives it its value.
Is XRP too late? ›
Investors would do better to keep a close eye on how the token develops to see if there is potential for the asset in 2023. If all goes well, it is not too late to buy XRP, but one can never be sure in the crypto market.
Is XRP 2022 a good investment? ›
Yes. Along with a strong bullish sentiment, it is likely that Ripple will breach past $1.00 again this year. This could go all the way up to $1.50 to $1.80 should it follow last year's trading trajectory. Failing to hit $2.00 in 2022 does not mean it will never make it.
Will XRP ever reach $5? ›
XRP could cross the $5 mark with a potential high of $5.683 by the end of 2030.
What will XRP coin be worth in 2025? ›
He predicts that XRP will be worth $0.50 by the end of 2025 and surprisingly, a mere $0.10 in 2030. According to data published on Nasdaq, the average projection for 2025 is around $3.66.
Is XRP good for long-term? ›
Few cryptocurrencies can boast a lifespan of ten years or more, which makes XRP an intriguing long-term investment. The main use case for XRP is what gives it its value.
Did XRP win there case? ›
Ripple Labs may have won a hard-fought battle in wresting documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it says supports its case against the agency, but that does not mean it will prevail in a $1.3 billion suit against it for selling the XRP XRP +1.3% cryptocurrency as an unregistered security.
How high will XRP get in 10 years? ›
If the Ripple business performs well, in 10 years, XRP can theoretically exceed new heights. Based on current projections, most experts have agreed that Ripple's price can go up to the $250-$300 range in ten years. Ripple Coin News says that Ripple price could rise to $30 in 10 years.
Could XRP hit 100? ›
Can Ripple (XRP) Hit $100 or $1000? Yes, it is possible for Ripple to hit $100, but it is unlikely. And it's even more unlikely for the token to reach $1,000. This is because for XRP to reach $1,000 per coin, its market cap would have to reach at least $100 trillion, which we're very unlikely to see any time soon.
