XRP News: Standard Chartered Cuts XRP 2026 Target -65% While Holding $28 for 2030

In XRP news today, Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick has slashed his end-2026 XRP price prediction by 65%, from $8 to $2.80, while leaving his $28 target for 2030 entirely intact, a split signal that captures the central contradiction now defining XRP’s investment case.

The Ripple network is thriving at record levels, yet the token itself has lost more than half its value over the past year and trades near $1.10, one of its weakest levels since November 2024.

XRP ETFs have pulled in $1.47Bn since launching, with inflows holding steady for seven consecutive weeks despite the price slide, and the XRP Ledger has more than tripled its liquidity in 2026 and captured approximately $1.9Bn in tokenization business over three months.

The open question the market must now resolve is whether XRP will recapture its role as the bridge asset at the center of Ripple’s payment network, or whether RLUSD’s structural takeover of institutional flows has permanently routed institutional capital around the token.

XRP News: What Kendrick’s Split Forecast Actually Reveals About XRP’s Bridge Asset Problem

(SOURCE: DefiLlama)

Context enhances the raw figures significantly. Kendrick’s decision to lower the near-term target while maintaining the 2030 estimate suggests that, while the long-term case for XRP remains strong, the timeline for institutional investment has been extended.

Despite regulators reclassifying XRP as a digital commodity, its price continues to decline amid Bitcoin’s drop toward $60,000. Ripple recently celebrated regulatory wins, yet XRP underperformed, largely because of the rise of RLUSD, Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin.

With RLUSD now at approximately $800M and its trading pool being the second-largest on the XRP Ledger, liquidity has tripled. However, this capital favors RLUSD over XRP, as institutions prefer the stability of a dollar-pegged asset for large transactions.

About 82% of RLUSD is concentrated in just ten addresses, benefiting Ripple but not helping XRP’s price discovery. Kendrick’s $28 XRP price prediction for 2030 assumes conditions such as ETF inflows and the passage of the CLARITY Act.

While the near-term adjustment to $2.80 reflects the belief that these conditions are not yet met, with RLUSD’s substitution effect being substantial.

The 2030 Forecast Landscape: What a 200-Fold Range Between Scenarios Reveals About XRP’s Structural Uncertainty

Bitwise conducted a formal valuation of XRP, predicting a wide range of outcomes over the next four years: a bull scenario of $29.32, a middle case of $12.68, and a bear case of $0.13. Standard Chartered’s $28 estimate aligns closely with Bitwise’s upper predictions.

The 24/7 Wall St. forecast of $8 to $12 by 2030 occupies a more conservative middle ground. The $0.13 bear case assumes banks will retain their SWIFT agreements and that dollar stablecoins will replace XRP in cross-border settlements.

Serious forecasts peak around $28 to $29, as projections over $100 are unrealistic; such a price would require a market cap over double the current crypto market. All credible forecasts, including those from Bitwise and Standard Chartered, hinge on the idea that XRP news must capture a significant share of the payment volume Ripple is capturing.

It remains unclear whether RLUSD is a temporary solution that could eventually drive demand for XRP, or a long-term substitute that diminishes the need for XRP. While XRP’s tokenization shows strong performance and ETF inflows support a bullish outlook, there are concerns, highlighted by RLUSD’s concentration in ten addresses and a lack of price movement despite ETF buying.

The CLARITY Act, which would classify XRP as a commodity and encourage institutional investment, is crucial to Standard Chartered’s outlook but faces a tight timeline in Congress. Additionally, Ripple continues to hold about 33 billion XRP in escrow, which creates ongoing supply pressure regardless of demand.

This article is not financial advice. Crypto assets are highly volatile. Always conduct your own research before investing.

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