- Hopes that XRP will reach another record are surging.
- But what’s driving the bullishness — and is it warranted?
The XRP army is buzzing.
Supporters of the Ripple-linked cryptocurrency are hoping its price is about to explode.
They have reason to be bullish.
The altcoin’s price is up almost 250% since this time last year, whales spend hundreds of millions to buy it, and bettors on prediction market Kalshi give it a 48% chance of outperforming Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a smattering of other cryptocurrencies this year.
People are curious about the altcoin Ripple developed to facilitate cross-border payments. Over the six months, Google searches for XRP have surged to outstrip those of Ethereum and Solana.
So what’s driving the excitement — and will it be enough?
The Trump effect
Earlier in 2025, Donald Trump drove the bullishness with promises to relax crypto laws.
XRP, much like the crypto market in general, surged when Trump won the US presidential election in November.
Since taking office, he’s fired off a barrage of executive orders and appointments to support the industry — and he has even launched a crypto empire of his own.
On March 2, the president said he planned to include four tokens in a US digital asset stockpile separate from the planned strategic Bitcoin reserve: Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and XRP.
All tokens surged on the news, but slumped somewhat when the White House failed to say when and if the government would buy new tokens.
Trump’s turbulent trade war has also kneecapped crypto and broader markets. The S&P 500 is down 6% since the president’s inauguration. The crypto market’s total value plunged 21%, or $800 billion, over the same time period.
Crypto-linked stocks like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Strategy have also taken a beating.
XRP has not been immune.
It’s down some 30% since Trump took office. Its chances of hitting another all-time high before the end of June have dropped from 56% at the beginning of March to 29%, according to bets made on Polymarket.
SEC case
Among the XRP army, Trump’s victory raised expectations that the Securities and Exchange Commission will drop its case against Ripple.
“This optimism is reflected in price movements and the $835 million in inflows since the US election, making Ripple the top-performing altcoin in terms of inflows after Ethereum,” James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, told DL News.
The agency sued Ripple in 2020, charging it with allegedly selling unregistered securities. Judge Analisa Torres ruled last year that XRP was not a security, but the regulator has appealed the ruling.
So far in 2025, the SEC has dropped or halted cases against Kraken, MetaMask, and Coinbase.
ETF buzz
Since Trump was elected, the SEC has been flooded by applications to launch altcoin exchange-traded funds, including several filings to launch XRP ETFs.
“Given the SEC’s increasingly relaxed stance, there is speculation that Ripple could be next in line for a spot-based ETF, further legitimising the asset,” Butterfill said.
The agency has acknowledged several XRP ETF applications, meaning that it has started to review them. This is a break from the agency’s practice during the Biden years when it frequently rejected applications.
If successful, Northstake, a virtual asset service provider, estimates that investors will pour up to $800 million into such funds in the first week alone.
JPMorgan predicts investors will pour $8 billion into XRP funds in their first year of trading.
Will it be enough?
To be sure, Butterfill cautions that bullishness alone won’t see XRP surge.
“This all depends,” he said. “If the lawsuit is dropped and a spot-based ETF is launched, further upside is likely — but then what?”
He said recent “price movements have been largely driven by litigation news rather than fundamental factors.”
“Once these events unfold, I suspect the market will need to shift its focus back to the asset’s fundamentals rather than legal uncertainties,” Butterfill said.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is down 0.8% over the past 24 hours to trade at $82,364.
- Ethereum is down 0.6% to trade at $1,895.
What we’re reading
Eric Johansson is DL News’ News Editor. Got a tip? Email at eric@dlnews.com.
