XRP is a unique cryptocurrency that has one of the most devoted communities in the crypto and blockchain space. Although it could certainly be a strong performer in the future, it’s practically impossible for Ripple to reach $10,000.
In this article, we will explore potential future price targets for XRP and explain why you shouldn’t expect XRP to ever reach a price of $10,000, or anywhere close to it, for that matter. We will also consult some XRP price predictions to get a better idea of where the price of XRP could head in the near to medium term.
Could Ripple reach $10,000? Here’s why it’s impossible
The reason why XRP won’t ever reach a price of $10,000 is not complicated – the supply of XRP is simply too large. XRP has a maximum supply limit of 100 billion coins. While not all XRP coins are currently in circulation, the coin still has a substantial circulating supply of 54.94 billion.
Even if we take the more conservative figure of 54.94 billion circulating XRP coins, the implied market capitalization if XRP were to trade at $10,000 would be $549.4 trillion.
To illustrate why this figure is impossibly large, we should point out that the GDP of the United States is $25.4 trillion and the world’s largest company, Microsoft, has a market capitalization of $3.1 trillion.
To draw a comparison from the cryptocurrency space, we can note that the highest market cap ever reached by Bitcoin was $1.42 trillion. If XRP traded at $10,000, its market cap would be 386 times larger than Bitcoin’s market cap at its historical peak.
So, even if XRP became the world’s largest cryptocurrency, it would be extremely unlikely to hit a price of $10,000. The only realistic scenario for that to happen would be a drastic reduction in the XRP supply through a redenomination or a major burn program.
Although a small amount of XRP is already being burned with each transaction, the burn rate is simply not fast enough to decrease the supply to an amount where $10,000 would be a realistic price target for XRP.
The XRP Ledger has been in operation for over a decade, but only about 12.2 million XRP have been burned through this mechanism. This is only 0.012% of the maximum supply of XRP.
While XRP coins are being regularly, the pace is very slow – only 0.012% of the XRP supply has been burned in the space of a decade. Image source: Burntracker.io
Now, let’s consider various XRP price targets and what they would mean for the market capitalization of XRP. This is a good way to quickly gauge whether a certain price target is realistic or not. We calculated the figures both for XRP’s current circulating supply, as well as its max supply.
| XRP price | Implied market cap (54.94B XRP) | Implied market cap (100B XRP) |
| $0.50 | $27.4 billion | $50 billion |
| $1 | $54.9 billion | $100 billion |
| $5 | $274 billion | $500 billion |
| $10 | $549 billion | $1 trillion |
| $50 | $2.74 trillion | $5 trillion |
| $100 | $5.49 trillion | $10 trillion |
| $500 | $27.4 trillion | $50 trillion |
| $1,000 | $54.9 trillion | $100 trillion |
| $5,000 | $270.4 trillion | $500 trillion |
| $10,000 | $549 trillion | $1 quadrillion |
When it comes to speculating about the potential future valuations of altcoins, we believe that using the historical market cap of Bitcoin is the best idea since it’s a benchmark that has already been demonstrated as possible for a crypto asset to achieve.
To reach Bitcoin’s historical market cap peak of $1.42 trillion, XRP would have to trade at a price of $25.8 (assuming the current circulating supply of 54.94 billion XRP coins). We believe that this is the upper bound of what is possible for XRP to achieve, although it’s of course still unlikely, as it would require a 44.4x increase from the current price of XRP, which is $0.58 at the time of writing this article.
XRP price prediction for 2024 & 2025 – How high can XRP go?
According to our XRP price prediction, we can expect to see a decline in the price of XRP in the short term. The forecasted bottom is $0.38, which is expected to be hit towards the end of May 2024.
However, the medium-term prospects are much more promising, at least as far as the price prediction on CoinCheckup is concerned. XRP is forecasted surpass the $1 price level and peak at a price of $1.87 in September of 2024. This would represent a 222% increase from the current price of XRP. However, the forecasted XRP rally is expected to be fairly short-lived, as the coin is predicted to undergo a sharp correction back under the $1 mark.
Meanwhile, the prediction for the beginning of 2025 is positive, as XRP is expected to bounce back above the psychologically important $1 price level.
Will XRP go up?
It’s fair to say that XRP has been displaying a disappointing performance in the last few years compared to other leading cryptocurrencies. XRP is yet to improve upon the all-time high it set in early 2018, which was almost 6 years ago. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and Ethereum habe set several new all-time highs since.
An important factor that might have prevented XRP achieving a new all-time high is the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC accuses XRP of being an unregistered security that Ripple issued and sold, a claim Ripple disputes.
The cloud of regulatory uncertainty hanging over XRP has naturally led to hesitation among some investors about investing in XRP. Additionally, in response to the lawsuit filed by the SEC, numerous cryptocurrency exchanges opted to delist XRP, aiming to sidestep potential regulatory complications.
Despite these challenges, the outlook for XRP might still be optimistic. Should the legal battle conclude in Ripple’s favor, it’s possible that XRP will start building up momentum in the markets.
Of course, we also have to mention fundamental developments that are improving the capabilities of the XRP Ledger.
For example, the Xahau sidechain allows developers to create smart contracts that can interact with objects and balances on the XRP Ledger. This functionality is implemented through a feature called Hooks. Thanks to Hooks, developers can write smart contracts in different programming languages, and the contracts are then compiled into WebAssembly.
In addition, many users might not know that the XRP Ledger now has an AMM (automated market maker) feature. This makes it possible for users to swap between different assets issued on the XRP Ledger, similarly to how Uniswap enables token swaps on the Ethereum blockchain.
The bottom line
Even though you shouldn’t expect Ripple to hit $10,000, XRP could certainly still have a bright future ahead of it. For realistic price targets, the best idea is probably to take a look at the historical market capitalization of Bitcoin and consider how certain XRP price targets would compare to it.
If you want to learn more about the crypto markets, make sure to take a look at our article showcasing the best cryptos to buy now.
