TLDR
- Standard Chartered projects XRP to reach $5.50 by end of 2025 and $12.50 by 2028
- Ripple’s position in cross-border payments cited as key growth catalyst
- Recently acquired Hidden Road to accelerate transactions via XRPL
- 62.8% of XRP’s realized cap now held by investors who entered in last six months
- Options market shows some traders betting on XRP hitting $4 by May
Standard Chartered Bank has made a bold prediction about XRP’s future, projecting that the cryptocurrency could rally to $5.50 by the end of 2025 and potentially reach $12.50 by 2028. This forecast would represent a 600% increase from XRP’s current value of approximately $1.70.
The bank released its report on April 8, 2025, highlighting Ripple’s unique positioning in the cross-border payments sector as a primary driver for this growth. Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of digital asset research, emphasized this point.
“XRP is uniquely positioned at the heart of one of the fastest-growing use cases for digital assets – facilitation of cross-border and cross-currency payments,” Kendrick stated in the report. He compared XRPL’s functionality to that of stablecoins like Tether, enabling blockchain-based financial transactions traditionally handled by conventional institutions.
Recent Developments Boosting XRP’s Outlook
Ripple has made strategic moves to strengthen its market position. The company recently acquired Hidden Road, a traditional prime broker that handles $10 billion in daily trades.
This acquisition aims to speed up transactions through the XRP Ledger (XRPL) by leveraging both XRP and Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD. Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s founder, explained the practical benefits of this integration.
“Instead of waiting for <24 hours to settle trades through fiat rails, Hidden Road will be using XRPL for clearing a portion of trades, and using RLUSD as collateral across its prime brokerage services,” Garlinghouse said. For context, XRPL is Ripple’s blockchain specifically designed to improve cross-border payment systems.
The price movements of XRP have shown correlation with political developments. Standard Chartered noted that XRP investors saw sixfold returns following Donald Trump’s election victory in November 2024.
This rally was attributed to expected regulatory shifts and the anticipated dismissal of the Ripple lawsuit under the Trump administration. These factors helped create a favorable environment for XRP price growth.
Investor Demographics Raise Concerns
Despite the positive outlook from Standard Chartered, on-chain data reveals potential risks in XRP’s investor base. According to analytics firm Glassnode, 62.8% of XRP’s realized cap is now held by investors who entered the market within the last six months.
During #Ripple’s Feb surge, Realized Cap nearly doubled from $30.1B to $64.2B – a $30B inflow largely from new investors. This short-term capital spike points to retail-led momentum, which has since cooled off as inflows slowed post-February. pic.twitter.com/Oe40qujPcU
— glassnode (@glassnode) April 8, 2025
This represents a major shift from previous patterns. Before recent capital inflows, newer investors controlled just 23% of the cryptocurrency’s realized cap.
The rapid concentration of capital in new holders shows strong retail involvement in XRP. However, it also creates potential fragility in the market.
Many of these newer investors purchased at elevated price levels compared to current trading values. This means a large portion of XRP holders may currently be underwater on their investments.
The realized cap of XRP has doubled from approximately $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion in recent months. This sharp increase reflects substantial capital flows into the cryptocurrency during this period.
Short-term Market Indicators
Options market data shows mixed sentiment regarding XRP’s short-term price movement. Currently, there’s only a 4.5% chance priced in for XRP reaching $4 by next month, according to Deribit data.
However, the $4 call option was the most actively traded in the 24 hours prior to reporting. This suggests some traders are speculating that XRP could reach a new all-time high by May.
XRP has faced short-term pressure from broader market uncertainty. Recent price action showed a decline of more than 8% in a 24-hour period, with the price returning to around $1.78.
Glassnode analysts noted that the current pattern of new investor dominance followed by slowing inflows and price declines mirrors conditions that led to market tops during the last two bull markets for XRP.
<6M old supply now makes up 62.8% of $XRP Realized Cap, up from just 23%. This rapid concentration in new holders reflects strong retail involvement – but also raises risk of fragility, as many hold elevated cost bases. pic.twitter.com/SzpDaA6H77
— glassnode (@glassnode) April 8, 2025
The current price action and investor demographics will be key factors to watch as XRP moves toward Standard Chartered’s projected prices. While the long-term outlook appears positive according to the bank, short-term volatility remains a concern.
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