At a time when gold is outperforming every major cryptocurrency on the planet, it's easier than you might think to find a cryptocurrency capable of skyrocketing in value this year.
I've found two beaten-down cryptos -- XRP (XRP 1.06%) and Sui (SUI 0.63%) -- capable of doing just that. Both have fallen significantly from their 2025 highs, giving them plenty of upside potential this year. Best of all, both come with powerful catalysts capable of jolting them back to life in 2026.
XRP
Let's start with XRP, which has been a longtime favorite with the crypto community. That's due, in large part, to its ability to deliver stratospheric returns within a very short period of time. Last year, for example, XRP skyrocketed from $0.50 to $3.40 (a gain of 580%) in a span of just two months.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
Unfortunately, XRP later gave back much of those gains and now trades for just $2. But there's reason to think that XRP can claw its way back to the $3 price level. Institutional money continues to pour into the new spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and that should provide enough momentum to send XRP higher.
Image source: Getty Images.
Just as importantly, Ripple, the company behind the XRP coin, went on a $2.5 billion blockchain and crypto acquisition spree last year. It also lined up $500 million in new financing from investors at a $40 billion valuation. Long story short, Ripple now has a huge war chest to assemble those new acquisitions into an end-to-end financial infrastructure with XRP at the core.
Once that financial infrastructure is in place, rising adoption from institutional investors should result in new use cases for XRP. In turn, significantly higher demand for the coin should send the price of XRP soaring. Last year, Standard Chartered predicted that XRP might hit a price of $8 this year. Given XRP's current price of $2, that's a potential quadrupling in value in 2026.
Sui
When it comes to smart contract blockchain networks, Ethereum (ETH 0.40%) gets all the attention -- and for good reason. It's a $360 billion behemoth with a stellar track record of posting impressive annual returns. But here's the thing: Ethereum is now 10 years old, and it could be time for a faster, cheaper, and more efficient blockchain to mount a serious challenge.
That's where Sui enters the picture. This smart contract blockchain network launched in May 2023 and is just now gaining traction. It currently ranks among the top 20 cryptocurrencies in the world by market cap.
New spot Sui ETFs are on tap for 2026, and that should lead to much higher adoption rates by both financial institutions and large institutional investors.
In addition, new blockchain upgrades have the potential to make Sui one of the fastest blockchains on the planet. That's good news for two key areas of growth -- decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming, where very fast transaction processing speeds are paramount.
But just keep in mind: If you're thinking of investing in Sui, you will need to hold your nose. It's now down 74% from its all-time high of $5.35 in January 2025. So there's hardly anything safe about Sui.
CRYPTO: SUI
Key Data Points
This is a very speculative play based on the idea that Sui, which has a market cap of $5.4 billion, can rapidly close the market share gap with bigger blockchain rivals, such as Cardano (ADA 1.08%), which has a current market cap of $13 billion. If so, Sui could double in value.
Are there any good alternatives to XRP or Sui?
Certainly, there are other cryptocurrencies out there with the potential to soar in value. Privacy coins might continue their surprising ascent. Niche cryptocurrencies related to stablecoins or real-world asset (RWA) tokenization might catch fire this year. A speculative new meme coin with a catchy name might surprise and delight investors for a short period of time.
But I'm sticking with XRP and Sui as my two high-upside plays for 2026. They're both attractively priced for retail investors at less than $2 each, and both come with growing adoption rates from institutional investors and big financial institutions.
By the end of the year, I'm expecting both XRP and Sui to be trading near their highs from last year. Is that really too much to ask? If I'm right, XRP could soar by 80% or more, while Sui could skyrocket by 270%.
