XRP News Today: XRP Price Could Surge 1,870% to $44.13 by 2026 Says Analyst

Versan Aljarrah, co-founder of Black Swan Capitalist, has made a bold comparison between the current price of XRP and the early days of Bitcoin. He suggests that purchasing XRP at $2 today is akin to buying Bitcoin at $50 several years ago. This comparison underscores the potential for significant growth in XRP's value, given the right market conditions and increased adoption.

XRP has been a subject of intense debate among crypto enthusiasts and critics. While some argue that its price is on the brink of collapse, others believe it is undervalued at its current price range of around $2. The token reached an all-time high of $3.84 during the 2018 bull run but has since failed to surpass this level. Despite this, many view XRP not just as a token but as a bridge asset for global payments, with the potential to revolutionize cross-border value transfers.

Aljarrah's statement has sparked interest among traders and investors who are starting to wonder if XRP price still has massive upside potential. He sees XRP price as still being in its early days and thinks the price could have a long way to go. One big reason to take XRP price seriously is that it already has legal clarity and real-world use, something Bitcoin didn’t have in 2013. Judge Analisa Torres ruled in July 2023 that XRP is not a security, and concluded a long legal battle with the SEC. That in itself gives a type of legitimacy to XRP that Bitcoin did not have in its formative years.

XRP also facilitates cross-border payments to assist institutions in transferring money efficiently and rapidly. It’s already being used in payment networks, which puts it in a position if tokenized finance becomes more mainstream. Aljarrah also pointed to XRP wild price swings and suggested that there might be more going on behind the scenes. He believes retail investors are getting pushed out by sharp moves while institutions quietly buy in and position themselves for what’s coming next. It’s a theory that’s catching on among some in the XRP community, even if it’s hard to prove. The idea is that once the dust settles, the big players will already be holding bags.

Aljarrah isn’t the only one feeling optimistic. Community figure BarriC has said anything under $3 is a great buying opportunity and believes XRP price could eventually hit $100 or even $1,000. Meanwhile, analyst DustyBC thinks that by the end of 2025, people will be wishing they had grabbed more XRP while it was still around $2. Right now, XRP price is trading at about $2.22, up nearly 2% today and a little over 1% for the week. Whether it follows in Bitcoin’s footsteps remains to be seen, but some believe history might just be repeating itself.

The XRP fair value calculator, based on a research model by Robert Mitchnick and Susan Athey, provides a framework for assessing XRP's potential value. This model evaluates digital assets based on their real-world utility rather than hype or speculation. Using this tool, an analysis was conducted to determine what XRP could be worth if it processed the highest daily transaction volume that Tether (USDT) reached this year. USDT, the leading stablecoin, consistently dominates daily trading volume across the crypto market, supporting countless trading pairs, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The analysis assumed that XRP would need to reach a daily volume of $292 billion to match USDT's peak. It also set the average time between transactions per XRP at 10 days, assuming financial institutions actively use XRP to settle transfers multiple times per month. The store of value was set at $180 billion, with a three-year time frame for these conditions to materialize. This window allows for new partnerships, clearer regulations, and wider adoption to drive XRP into heavier usage. The circulating supply of XRP was projected to grow to 66.2 billion, including expected releases from escrow. Ripple often leaves 200 million new XRP in the market each month, translating to 7.2 billion tokens in three years. Adding this to the current supply of 59 billion leads to 66.2 billion XRP.

To adjust the future price back to present-day value, a 2% interest rate was applied, representing an average return someone might expect each year over the next three years. After plugging in all the numbers, the calculator delivered a projected value of $44.13 per XRP. This represents a growth of 1,870% from its current price of $2.24. However, this assessment does not suggest that XRP will hit this price in the future. Rather, it shows what could happen if XRP starts handling the kind of activity stablecoins like USDT already see under the right conditions.

The comparison drawn by Versan Aljarrah highlights the potential for XRP to experience significant growth, similar to the early days of Bitcoin. While the future of XRP remains uncertain, the analysis provides a framework for understanding its potential value based on real-world utility and market conditions. As the crypto market continues to evolve, XRP's role as a bridge asset for global payments could drive its adoption and value, making it an asset to watch in the coming years.