The cryptocurrency industry has already made its fair share of millionaires, and XRP (XRP +0.31%) is one of the best examples. With prices up by 25,000% over the last decade, a $5,000 investment would be worth over $1.25 million today. To put that into context, a similar bet on the S&P 500 would have netted just $14,200.
However, now that the easiest money has already been made, it will be harder for XRP to deliver the same multibagger returns it made in the past. Let's dig deeper to see if the stock can hit $3 in 2025 or beyond.
What is XRP?
Founded in 2012, Ripple Labs created XRP to fix the shortcomings of older platforms like Bitcoin, which was launched three years prior. The developers realized that blockchain technology was ideal for disrupting the international payments industry, which is currently served by arguably archaic networks like The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), which was founded in 1973.
SWIFT works by allowing banks to send secure messages to one another before finalizing monetary transfers. XRP's developers wanted to enable users to bypass this process by sending money to one another directly while using XRP tokens as a bridge between different currencies.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
Practically all cryptocurrencies can serve this function. And newer blockchains, such as Solana, can handle transactions even faster than XRP.
Still, as an early mover, XRP has established a level of brand recognition and trust that puts it in the same league as other "blue chip" cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. And this will be key to attracting the risk-averse institutional investors that are finally dipping their toes into this highly speculative asset class.
XRP has secured regulatory wins
XRP's primary growth catalyst may come from easing regulations on the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. Under the Trump administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun prioritizing regulatory clarity over enforcement, abandoning legal actions against cryptocurrency organizations, including XRP's developer, Ripple Labs.
On March 9, the SEC dropped its appeal against an earlier ruling that found Ripple's sales of XRP to retail investors were not considered unregistered securities sales (although sales to institutional investors still were). Ripple Labs finally settled with the SEC, agreeing to pay a fine of $50 million, reduced from the original $125 million imposed last year.
The resolution of this regulatory uncertainty could open the door for more financial products based on XRP, like exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which will make the asset accessible to a broader range of investors.
Image source: Getty Images
Can XRP Hit $3 in 2025?
With its price tag of $2.24 per unit at the time of this writing, XRP looks tiny compared to other leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are worth $105,404 and $2,649, respectively. But this number is deceptive. XRP's market cap (the value of all its units added together) stands at $130 billion, making it the fourth-largest crypto in the world. And the larger an asset becomes, the harder it will be to grow.
With this in mind, investors should remember that it is practically impossible for XRP to repeat the multibagger returns it enjoyed in the past. Even growing by another 1,000% (to $22.40 per unit) would take its market cap well beyond $1 trillion. And it is unclear where that much demand would come from. That said, XRP's path to $3 (a gain of 34% compared to the current price) looks more doable.
A combination of regulatory wins and an established brand name could help XRP attract more deep-pocketed investors, especially if an ETF is approved this year. That said, while the digital coin looks poised to continue outperforming the wider cryptocurrency industry, investors should expect future growth to be slow and steady, not fast and explosive. And the path to $3 might not necessarily happen in 2025.
