Perhaps the oldest investing fantasy is to buy early, hold tight, and wake up one morning to see that your modest stake is suddenly worth millions. The fantasy occasionally comes true with cryptocurrency investments -- just not very often, and almost never once an asset is already large and well-known.
XRP (XRP -8.90%) occupies exactly that space today. At roughly $3.55 per coin, its market cap hovers at about $210 billion, putting it at third place by size among all crypto assets. Should new buyers or long‑term holders expect a life‑changing 100-fold gain from here?
Reality check
Let's start with simple arithmetic, and assume that an investor is willing to commit $10,000 to buying XRP.
A 100-fold gain would lift XRP's price to about $355 and its market cap to more than $21 trillion, well above the current valuation of some of the world's largest companies put together, and essentially the same size as the entire U.S. M2 money supply as of now. Such a move would make the investor into a millionaire.
But the odds of that scale of repricing are exceedingly slim in any reasonable timeframe. Capital simply can't flood in fast enough, and there likely isn't enough freely moving capital in the financial system anyway -- at least not enough held by those willing to invest in crypto.
Even a 10-fold move, to roughly $35 per coin, and a $2.1 trillion cap would require investors to treat XRP as a systemically important piece of global plumbing and buy it in vast quantities accordingly. That's possible, but it would demand flawless execution by Ripple (the business that issues XRP), very permissive regulators, and a willingness of institutional investors to hold billions in the token for liquidity and transaction settlement purposes (which is something Ripple is actively trying to get them to do).
Image source: Getty Images.
Is this smaller milestone realistic? Maybe. Is it a slam dunk? Absolutely not.
Still, there's plenty of upside left for those who buy XRP soon. A more modest doubling or quadrupling during several years would push XRP's value into the $400 billion to $800 billion range, which is territory that Bitcoin and Ethereum comfortably occupied and, in Bitcoin's case, later exceeded. That scale of appreciation is demanding, but not outside historical precedent during broad bull cycles, like the one we're in now.
But investors eyeing such gains need to watch a specific set of catalysts, not chase dreams of instant riches.
What will be driving XRP higher?
XRP's near-term future looks bullish for a few reasons.
Regulatory clarity is finally coming into focus. In March, Ripple settled the long-running lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a reduced $50 million penalty, and the agency dropped its appeal over whether XRP traded on exchanges is a security. That removes a decade‑old cloud hanging over the coin and makes it easier for institutions to buy it.
Real‑world traction is also picking up. As of mid‑2025, XRP's payments infrastructure boasts near‑global reach, with access to more than 90 markets. The network now supports hundreds of enterprise clients spread across many countries, and those clients settle cross‑border financial transfers using XRP. The wider that network grows, the more working capital needs to be held as XRP. That's also good for demand, even if the effect is gradual rather than explosive.
Liquidity tools are expanding too. Ripple recently introduced a fully collateralized dollar stablecoin on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and Ripple has since applied for a U.S. national bank charter so that its stablecoin reserves can sit directly at the Federal Reserve. Its stablecoin already boasts roughly $527 million in circulation. An on‑chain dollar reduces friction for cross‑border pay‑outs.
Of course, there are still a few risks here that could easily derail the asset from multiplying in value. If global liquidity tightens, if regulators become more hawkish, or if competing blockchains out‑innovate, XRP's relative appeal could fade. Investors must weigh those hazards against the credible path to moderate, but not explosive, price appreciation.
In other words, XRP's millionaire‑maker days are probably behind it. Yet the coin may still deserve a place in a diversified crypto portfolio if you're patient. Expecting a sensible gain from compounding over time rather than a lottery payout is the emotionally mature stance.
