XRP is still an immensely popular cryptocurrency despite having relatively poor price action in the last few years. In this article, we’ll consider XRP’s chances for major gains in the future, and try to answer the question being asked by many XRP investors – can XRP reach $100?
Key highlights:
XRP has a very low chance of reaching $100 anytime soon.
At a price of $100, XRP would have a larger market cap than the whole crypto market has ever reached.
However, there are several bullish catalysts for XRP that could propel the price of the coin further.
Can XRP reach $100? The chances are extremely slim
XRP has a maximum supply of 99.99 billion coins, which means that the market capitalization of XRP at a price of $100 per XRP would be $9.99 trillion. This would be significantly larger than the highest market cap ever reached by the cryptocurrency market, which was just over $3 trillion.
Currently, the circulating supply of XRP is 56.56 billion coins, which would imply a market capitalization of $5.65 trillion at an XRP price of $100. This would still be substantially larger than the highest ever combined market cap of the entire crypto market.
Just from these two simple calculations alone, we can see that XRP reaching a price of $100 is not a likely scenario.
To add to that, we should also consider that XRP has never even come close to reaching a price of $100. At its historical peak in January of 2018, XRP set an all-time high of $3.50. Even at that price, an additional 28.5x price increase would be required to reach $100.
We should also point out that XRP hasn’t traded at $1 or above since 2018, despite the major cryptocurrency bull market in 2021. This further shows that $100 is not a realistic price target for XRP at the moment.
To better visualize what different price levels would mean for the market cap of XRP, let’s quickly calculate what the coin’s market cap would be under various price and supply assumptions.
XRP Price Implied market cap (circulating supply) Implied market cap (total supply) $0.50 $28.2 billion $49.9 billion $1 $56.5 billion $99.9 billion $5 $282.8 billion $499.9 billion $10 $565.6 billion $999.9 billion $50 $2.8 trillion $4.9 trillion $100 $5.6 trillion $9.9 trillion
*Calculations involving the circulating supply assume a 56.56 billion circulating XRP supply (as of October 11, 2024).
*Calculations involving the total supply assume a 99.99 billion XRP supply.
Bullish catalysts for XRP
Although a $100 price tag is out of the question for XRP at the moment, this doesn’t mean that XRP has no potential for price appreciation. Let’s explore some of the key factors that could drive upwards momentum in the XRP price.
Positive developments in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit
One of the biggest factors why XRP has been performing so poorly in the last 5 years despite a full-blown crypto bull market in 2021 is the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and U.S. securities regulator SEC, which began in December of 2020.
Although the SEC is making multiple allegations against Ripple, the crux of the issue is that the SEC considers XRP to be an unregistered security issued by Ripple. Meanwhile, Ripple is arguing that XRP is not a security and shouldn’t be treated according to securities laws.
In August of 2024, Ripple scored a major victory in the legal battle as a judge ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in penalties despite the SEC seeking a much larger amount ($2 billion). Although this was certainly a very positive development for Ripple and XRP, the legal battle with the regulator is not yet over.
In October of 2024, the SEC appealed a 2023 federal ruling which stated that XRP was not a security.
Whether we like it or not, the developments in the legal battle between Ripple and the SEC will likely play a substantial role in XRP price action moving forward.
The RLUSD stablecoin
Another positive development for XRP is that Ripple is preparing to launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin called Ripple USD, or RLUSD. This stablecoin, which will be available on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, will be redeemable for US dollars on a 1:1 basis.
Testing, testing…RLUSD! We’re excited to share that Ripple USD (RLUSD) is now in private beta on XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet. RLUSD has not yet received regulatory approval and therefore is not available for purchase or trading – please be cautious of scammers who claim they…
— Ripple (@Ripple) August 9, 2024
The stablecoin’s peg to the US dollar will be maintained through 100% backing by US dollar deposits, short-term US government treasuries, and other cash-equivalent assets.
An independent accounting firm will audit the stablecoin’s reserves, and Ripple will release monthly attestations to confirm that all RLUSD tokens in circulation are fully backed.
In early August, Ripple officially announced that RLUSD had entered a private beta testing phase on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum mainnet. However, the official RLUSD launch date is not yet known.
Real-world assets (RWAs) on the XRP Ledger
Another emerging trend on the XRP Ledger is the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). Asset classes such as real estate, commodities, and securities can be tokenized, creating an immutable digital representation of the underlying asset that can be traded and owned on blockchain networks.
The XRP Ledger is well-suited for this purpose, thanks to its built-in tokenization capabilities, native decentralized exchange, and features that support businesses in ensuring compliance.
Looking ahead, we can anticipate new features being introduced to the XRP Ledger that will further enhance its ability to support RWA tokenization.
In August, the RWA platform OpenEden launched its tokenized US treasury bill product on the XRP Ledger. Following this launch, Ripple invested $10 million into OpenEden's TBILL tokenized treasury product.
Additionally, Ripple is actively collaborating with regulated digital asset exchange Archax, with plans to bring hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tokenized assets onto the XRP Ledger.
Long-term XRP price prediction
Now, let’s also consider the algorithmic XRP price prediction on CoinCodex to see what could happen to the XRP price in the future. Although the prediction is forecasting XRP to see substantial price growth in 2025, even this optimistic forecast doesn’t place the future XRP price anywhere near the $100 mark.
If we consider the CoinCodex XRP price prediction up to 2030, the highest forecasted price for XRP is $2.41, which is roughly 5x higher than the current XRP price but still well below the current XRP price.
Please keep in mind that the price prediction on CoinCodex is only based on price history and current market conditions, and doesn’t take into account any fundamentals or news events.
The bottom line
If you’re wondering if Ripple can reach $100, the answer is most likely no. As we discussed earlier in the article, an XRP price of $100 would mean that XRP alone would have a larger market cap than the entire cryptocurrency market has ever reached. In addition, XRP hasn’t traded above $1 since 2018.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that XRP isn’t a good hold. There a lot of bullish catalysts that could drive the XRP price higher in the future. If you’re a long-term XRP investor looking for the best place to store your coins, we recommend you check out our list of the best XRP wallets.
