The economy is in a tough spot, with Inflation, rising interest rates, and shaky banking systems putting pressure on traditional finance. Because of this, the market is in search for a safer option,as investors start to shift their attention toward digital assets with real-world use cases and XRP is right in the middle of the conversation
Looking back, XRP has one of the most dramatic histories in the crypto market not just because of its price swings, but because it managed to survive them. According to the Historical data, the token saw its longest and deepest drawdown between December 2017 and November 2024. Within that time range, XRP plunged by -90.6% from its peak.
In early 2018, XRP reached an all time high of $3.84, with a market cap of $139.4 billion, which accounted for 20% of the entire crypto market at the time. But issues like regulatory pressure, lawsuits, and changing sentiment caused a large sell-off in the market.
By 2023, XRP was trading around $0.50, with its market cap falling to just $26.29 billion, a mere 2.5% of total crypto value.
This long decline tested investors’ patience and confidence. However, Even when many projects from that era vanished, XRP held on.
However, after years of sideways movement and suppressed price action, the tide may be turning. Since November 2024, XRP has surged over 500% reaching a high of $3.40. Now the market is trading at $2.09 with a total market cap of $123.48B, at the time of writing this report.
Ripple’s Expansion and Strategic Moves
This year, Ripple has been making some serious moves with the aim of growing in crypto space. Just recently, RippleX engineer Mayukha Vadari and XRPL validator Vet announced plans of rolling out a fresh upgrade for XRPL called “XLS-85d: Token-enabled escrows”.
This upgrade will allow users to escrow stablecoins like RLUSD, real-world asset tokens, and even memecoins. This will come with the release of rippled version 2.5.0.
It doesn’t stop there, the company recently purchased a prime broker called Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, becoming the first crypto company to own and operate a global, multi-asset prime broker.
Months after the acquisition, the prime broker launched a new crypto trading service for U.S. institutional investors in earnest, allowing US customers to trade over-the-counter (OTC) cash-settled crypto swaps.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen companies that have been pouring into the trend of adding XRP to their treasury strategy. For instance, VivoPower International, a Nasdaq-listed energy company, announced a $121 million private share placement to launch an XRP treasury strategy.
At the same time, China-based company, Webus International announced plans to buy $300 million worth of XRP to build its crypto reserves, with the aim to remove global payment barriers and redefine cross-border mobility with blockchain and AI.
Expert Opinions and Market Outlook For 2025
Looking at the chart on a weekly timeframe, It appears a strong uptrend began on November 4, 2024, pushing prices up by 500%. But in January 2024, the rally hit a wall at a high of $3.40.
Since then, the market has struggled to keep climbing. Instead, it’s been making lower highs, which is a sign that sellers are stepping in, with each attempt to push higher has failed to break past the previous peak. This means that the bullish momentum may be fading.
However, the market has tested off a key support zone multiple times and formed a bullish pennant pattern. This could mean the sell-off is ending and another rally is coming.
If the resistance holds, we might see a fresh surge of over 90% in price, one that could break past the previous high.
Meanwhile, an Analyst express his bullish outlook on the market in an X post, pointing out that XRP is on a breakthrough to $5
“XRP Ready for The Explosion Up to 5$, XRP is testing the upper resistance of a textbook weekly symmetrical triangle after months of consolidation.This is a classic bullish continuation setup and we’re nearing the breakout zone.The target is a monster move up $5, aligned with the height of the flagpole.”
That said, XRP’s strong comeback, backed by Ripple’s smart upgrades and big investors, show that the company and the coin have a bright future ahead. While the price tests a key support zone, the bullish patterns and expert predictions hint at a possible breakout soon. For many, XRP could be the digital asset to watch in 2025
