Despite its legal battle with the SEC, Ripple has shown resilience. The company has made numerous strategic moves, including acquisitions, global expansion, and the launch of its stablecoin, RLUSD.
Thanks to Ripple’s developments, XRP has surged in value over the past year, but is it possible for it to reach $18 in 2025?
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s evolution could have the market turning to projects like PlutoChain ($PLUTO), a Layer-2 solution that could tap into Bitcoin’s full potential.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s been going on with XRP and what PlutoChain has to offer.
Can XRP Hit $18 in 2025? Analysts Weigh In
As of January 21, 2025, the XRP current price is $3.14 with a marketcap of $180,661,743,900.00. Its price is -3.71% down in last 24 hours.
XRP Price courtesy of the Brave New Coin XRP Liquid Index
The market cap is sitting at $182 billion, XRP’s circulating supply stands at 57.56 billion tokens, with a fully diluted valuation of $316.17 billion. The asset has climbed an impressive 31.1% over the past month. The token’s all-time high of $3.40 was reached on January 7, 2018, which puts the current price just 7% below that peak.
Right now, XRP’s RSI is at 57, which indicates a neutral trend.
Ripple has been locked in a high-profile legal battle with the SEC since 2020.
The SEC claimed Ripple’s XRP sales were unregistered securities offerings. In July 2023, Ripple scored a partial win when a federal judge ruled that XRP is not a security when sold on exchanges to the general public. However, sales to institutional investors were deemed unregistered securities.
The SEC filed an appeal in late 2024 to challenge the ruling on retail sales. Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, called out the SEC for dragging its feet, especially with a likely shake-up in leadership under the new U.S. administration.
Legal battles aside, Ripple has kept moving forward. In May 2023, it acquired Metaco, a crypto custody firm in Switzerland, for $250 million.
Shortly after, Ripple gained approval from Singapore’s Monetary Authority to offer digital payment token services, which strengthened its position in Asia-Pacific.
In October 2024, Ripple took a bold step into the stablecoin market with RLUSD, a U.S. dollar-pegged coin. This launch is seen as a direct challenge to Tether and USDC.
Analyst Lai Jr. believes XRP could spike to $4–$8 around January 20th, thanks to a potential “Trump Pump.” He also sees the possibility of XRP hitting $10–$34 by March, depending on how the SEC case unfolds.
Taking a more cautious approach, crypto analyst Brian suggests XRP might dip to $2.90–$3.05 before rebounding to $3.90.
However, Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, has dismissed wild claims that XRP could skyrocket to $10,000 or even $35,000 and urged the community to stick with more realistic expectations.
PlutoChain ($PLUTO) Could Tap Into Bitcoin’s Full Potential as a Scalable, Developer-Friendly Ecosystem
PlutoChain ($PLUTO) has the potential to move Bitcoin beyond “digital gold” and turn it into a platform ready for modern applications.
With Bitcoin hitting $108,000 in December and owning 53.2% of the market, the question now isn’t its dominance but its evolution. This is where PlutoChain steps in.
As a hybrid Layer-2 solution, PlutoChain could tackle Bitcoin’s long-standing problems: congestion, slow transactions, and high fees.
The plan is to create a parallel network that could ease mainnet traffic, cut fees, and speed up transactions.
Using Layer-2 tech, PlutoChain offers block times of only 2 seconds, which is much lower compared to Bitcoin’s 10-minute block times.
This improvement could let Bitcoin support smart contracts, DeFi projects, NFTs, and more.
Developers could seamlessly port Ethereum-based projects thanks to PlutoChain’s EVM compatibility.
Its testnet handles 43,200 transactions daily, which shows it’s ready for real-world use.
PlutoChain’s security measures include audits by SolidProof, QuillAudits, and Assure DeFi, as well as regular stress tests and adherence to global regulations.
PlutoChain also puts the community in charge. Its decentralized governance system gives users the power to propose and vote on upgrades. Every decision reflects the collective vision.
Final Words
Ripple and XRP continue to navigate opportunities and challenges and balance legal hurdles with strategic advancements.
XRP’s potential remains strong, but market dynamics and regulatory outcomes will play a key role in the next few months.
On the other hand, PlutoChain ($PLUTO) might offer an interesting solution to Bitcoin’s scalability issues.
By addressing Bitcoin’s limitations and adding developer-friendly tools, PlutoChain could redefine what’s possible on the Bitcoin network.
Please keep in mind that this article is not financial advice. All crypto tokens are volatile, and trading involves risk. Always do your own research and consult a qualified expert before joining any crypto venture. Mention of any tokens in this article does not guarantee future performance. Statements regarding the future carry risks and are not assured to be updated.
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