XRP's next 24x: From $2 to $50, what are institutions betting on

According to the latest news, long-term price expectations for XRP are undergoing significant changes. Although XRP’s current price still fluctuates around the $2.08 range, xAI’s Grok provides a relatively aggressive assessment: under ideal conditions, XRP could reach $50 by 2030. This is not based on speculation from a single factor but is built on the combined effects of ETF capital inflows, Ripple ecosystem expansion, and the overall maturity of the crypto market.

Three Main Supports for the $50 Prediction

ETF Becomes a New Engine for Structural Demand

Since the launch of XRP ETFs at the end of 2025, they have accumulated over $1.3 billion in assets. According to the latest data, this fund size has expanded to $1.49 billion, with nearly continuous net inflows in the early stages. This sustained capital inflow provides a stable buying foundation for XRP and explains its recent outperformance compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Market reactions indicate that institutional investor participation has exceeded expectations. On Binance, the XRP long-short account ratio surged to 3.19, with 76.16% of top traders holding long positions, and the holding ratio increased to 1.97, indicating a significant increase in capital allocation. This is not just optimistic sentiment but genuine capital deployment decisions.

Ripple’s Strategic Shift

Several large acquisitions completed in 2025 have significantly enhanced Ripple’s capabilities in clearing, custody, and institutional payments. More importantly, Ripple has transformed from a purely technical company into an infrastructure provider for institutional finance. According to the latest news, Ripple has obtained EMI (Electronic Money Institution) licensing in the UK and registered as a crypto asset service provider. The Bank of New York Mellon has chosen Ripple Prime to launch tokenized deposit services as an early adopter.

Ripple management has repeatedly emphasized that 2026 will be a key milestone for the practical deployment of XRP use cases. This indicates XRP is gradually shifting from a speculative asset to an infrastructure token with real payment demand.

Expansion of Long-term Demand

From a macro perspective, the demand supporting XRP’s long-term value is expanding. The growth of stablecoins, accelerated tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), and a potentially loose monetary environment could all provide long-term demand support for high-efficiency settlement networks. Given the continuously expanding cross-border payment market, even with limited penetration, XRP’s network value could be re-rated.

On-chain data also confirms this. XRP’s payment volume on the network once exceeded $1 billion within 24 hours, and key ledger metrics doubled, indicating a surge in network activity, typically driven by settlement needs or institutional operations.

Short-term Fundamentals Have Formed Support

In addition to the long-term logic, short-term fundamentals are also worth noting. According to the latest news, a $23 million XRP coordinated trade completed across multiple exchanges within 60 seconds indicates institutional investors are building positions. This trade occurred during a consolidation phase below $2.12, with volume leading the price—an uncommon pattern among retail traders.

Technically, XRP formed a golden cross after leverage reset, a signal last seen before its upward trend in July. Analysts believe that XRP’s recent pullback is part of a larger bullish consolidation structure, similar to its pattern before a significant rally starting in late 2024.

Key Variables and Risks

It should be clear that $50 is not a certainty but a scenario projection under strong adoption, friendly policies, and a full bull market cycle overlay. The realization of this prediction depends on several key variables:

• Whether Ripple can truly transform XRP from a speculative asset into a payment infrastructure
• Whether the regulatory environment remains friendly, especially in the US and Europe
• Whether the global loose monetary environment can persist, supporting demand for cross-border payments
• Whether the market can complete a full bull cycle

Summary

The imagination of XRP rising from $2 to $50 fundamentally reflects the market’s re-evaluation of its identity. From a legal dispute asset, it is gradually shifting toward a crypto project with long-term financial infrastructure potential. The current ETF capital inflows, institutional collaborations, and surging on-chain activity are all validating this transformation.

However, the most critical factor is whether Ripple can truly implement payment applications, rather than remaining at the technical narrative level. In the short term, fundamentals have already formed support; in the long term, the key lies in expanding actual use cases. Investors should focus not only on price targets but also on the tangible progress of these fundamental factors.