XRP’s 2025 Performance: A Year of Mixed Fortunes
The XRP community had high hopes for 2025, and while the year saw some significant milestones, the coveted $5 price target remained elusive. Despite the resolution of the SEC lawsuit, the launch of US-based spot ETFs, and a surge in Ripple partnerships, XRP’s price peaked at $3.66 before falling as much as 50% to a low of $1.58 in October.
Some of the most bullish events for XRP occurred in 2025, yet it fell by over 50%, underperforming the market. No sustained purchases and low XRP network activity indicate weak demand. Technicals point to further downside risk in 2026, with analysts warning of a possible drop below $1.
XRP Price Fails to Reflect Major Milestones
In 2025, several bullish events expected by the XRP community occurred, but XRP continues to underperform the cryptocurrency market. In March, XRP was listed as a candidate for the United States’ Digital Asset Reserve, triggering an initial price surge of over 30%. However, the executive order limited the supply only to confiscated assets (not new purchases), with a separate preference for Bitcoin.
This disappointment contributed to limited sustainable upside potential and provided symbolic legitimacy but no direct buying pressure going forward. Three data signals show that demand from XRP traders has evaporated. On May 8, Ripple Labs concluded a year-long legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was one of the main reasons XRP hit a seven-year high on July 18.
However, this momentum quickly faded, and the price fell 25% to $2.73 less than two weeks later. The last hope for a parabolic XRP rally in 2025 was institutional demand, fueled by inflows into spot ETFs in the United States that launched in November. These investment products recorded inflows for 24 consecutive days, with cumulative inflows rising to $1.06 billion and total assets under management rising to over $1.14 billion.
XRP ETF inflows. Source: SoSoValue
Such a strong start for XRP ETFs reflected confidence among institutional investors, but did little to improve traders’ sentiment about XRP price growth opportunities. The Trump administration is expected to continue offering regulatory support for the crypto industry in 2026, and Ripple payments are also expected to experience further growth through strategic partnerships.
Can XRP Reach $5-$10 in 2026?
Over the past six months, the number of daily active addresses (unique users) on the XRP ledger has remained below 45,000. As of December 18, only 38,500 active addresses were registered, a 94% decline from a 2025 peak of more than 600,000 addresses in March.
XRP Ledger: Number of daily active addresses. Source: Glassnode
XRP lost over 90% of its value within 12 months of reaching its all-time high in 2018, and that was well before the SEC lawsuit. Another drop of this magnitude is not out of the question considering the token has already fallen more than 40% from its multi-year high of over $3.66.
XRP price decline from all-time high. Source: Glassnode
In fact, the technical setup shows that XRP could decline much further from here. XRP has lost key levels: the psychological level at $2 and the 50-week exponential moving average (SMA) at $1.87, a signal that previously marked cycle tops.
A key area of interest is between the 100-week EMA, currently at $1.85, and $1.80 (the November 21 low), the loss of which would trigger another cascade of long liquidations, with local lows at $1.61 being the next area of interest. Below this, the 200-day EMA at 1.38 could provide some breathing space where bulls could regroup before attempting another recovery.
XRP/USD weekly chart. Source: TradingView
However, many analysts believe that the XRP price has peaked and warn of a deeper price correction by 2026. Veteran trader Peter Brandt said the presence of a “potential double top” pattern could see XRP fall below $1 in the coming weeks or months.
XRP/USD weekly chart. Source: Peter Brandt
In contrast, other analysts like Chad Steingraber are confident that XRP price could rise “from $2 to $10” in 2026, citing continued spot ETF inflows and more bullish technicals on higher time frames.
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