With the crypto market’s total value pushing past $4 trillion and the wider economy showing friendly signals, the conversation about XRP hitting a staggering $10 is heating up.
For years, a legal battle with the SEC kept a lid on the token. Now that the dust has settled, the chains are off. A perfect storm seems to be brewing, with big-money players, major tech upgrades, and real-world use cases all pointing towards the most optimistic forecast for XRP in years.
Lawsuit’s over, and Wall Street is waking up
XRP’s history has been a study in contrasts. During the 2017-2018 bull market, it posted mind-boggling returns of over 58,000%, leaving even Bitcoin and Ethereum in the dust. However, the 2020-2021 run was a disaster for the token. The SEC filed its lawsuit in December 2020, and U.S exchanges immediately dropped XRP, leaving it on the sidelines during a massive market boom.
Everything changed in 2023 when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP sold on public exchanges wasn’t a security. That was the green light exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken needed. They quickly relisted the token, and trading volumes exploded.
The whole messy affair officially ended in August 2025, when Ripple Labs paid a $125 million fine for its early sales to institutions. Most importantly, it gave XRP a clear legal status in the United States.
That clarity is exactly what Wall Street was waiting for. Big-name asset managers are now scrambling to get their spot XRP ETF applications in front of the SEC, and experts think there’s a 95% chance of approval by late October. JPMorgan thinks an ETF could suck in $8 billion in its first year alone, creating a massive, steady demand for XRP.
Source: Polymarket
Favorable winds and a market ready to run
The big picture in finance is also helping. The U.S Federal Reserve is signaling it will cut interest rates, which pumps more cash into the market and tends to weaken the dollar. A weaker dollar makes assets like crypto look a lot more appealing. Add to that a friendlier political attitude toward crypto, and you have the recipe for the rally that took XRP from under 50 cents in late 2024 to over $3.30 by January 2025.
You didn’t see a massive price explosion the day the SEC settlement was announced because most investors already saw it coming. What that settlement did was remove the single biggest risk hanging over XRP.
Now, the conversation has changed from courtroom drama to what the technology can actually do.
More than just a payments token!
Ripple’s team hasn’t been sitting on their hands. The company’s payment system, which uses XRP for instant cross-border payments (ODL), is booming. Transaction volumes blew past $15 billion in 2024, up 32% from the year before, with giants like Santander and Standard Chartered using it more and more.
Ripple now works with over 300 banks and financial institutions.
However, the real story is happening on the XRP Ledger itself, which is getting a massive overhaul.
- DeFi is here – The ledger now has its own built-in Automated Market Maker (AMM), designed to bring a ton of trading activity and cash into its decentralized exchange. A lending system is also on the way.
- A bridge to Ethereum – A new sidechain now connects the XRP Ledger to the Ethereum ecosystem. This lets developers bring their apps over to use the XRPL’s cheap, fast network. Every transaction on this sidechain uses a version of XRP as gas, tying its success directly to the token’s value.
- An NFT scene – The XLS-20 upgrade has kickstarted a real NFT market on the ledger, with unique perks like artist royalties that are baked right into the code.
These aren’t just minor tweaks. They’re turning the XRPL into a full-fledged blockchain that can do much more than just send money.
What do the price charts say?
The charts are starting to look very interesting. Analysts are pointing to a classic “cup-and-handle” pattern, a signal that often precedes a major price breakout. Several have mapped out a route to double digits, but it has to break through a few key ceilings first.
Here are the numbers to watch –
- First test – The $3.30 – $3.40 zone.
- Big wall – A tough resistance area between $5.00 and $5.85.
- Goalposts – If it clears those, traders are looking at $7.00 – $8.00, with some ETF-fueled predictions aiming for $10.47 or even higher.
On the downside, XRP has built a solid support level at around $2.80. If the whole market takes a dive, it might dip to $2.64 before buyers jump back in.
Source: XRP/USD, TradingView
Getting to $10 would mean XRP’s total value has to reach about $595 billion. That’s a huge number, but it’s not impossible. It’s in the same ballpark as Ethereum’s peak valuation, something that seems reachable in a roaring bull market with Wall Street money pouring in.
X-factors – A loyal army and global clarity
You can’t talk about XRP without mentioning its die-hard community, the “XRP Army.” Their loyalty has kept the token relevant through the toughest times, a social factor that even Wall Street veterans have learned not to ignore.
Plus, while the U.S was stuck in court, countries like Japan, the U.K, and Singapore had already given XRP the green light, classifying it as a non-security. This gives it a solid base to grow from globally. Ripple is also aligning itself with ISO 20022, the new global standard for bank messaging that the Fed itself now uses. This is a clear move to embed XRP into the plumbing of traditional finance.
The road to $10 will be bumpy, for sure. But with the legal nightmare over, Wall Street getting interested, and the technology evolving faster than ever, XRP is in the strongest position it has been in for years.