i predict that XRP(Crypto: XRP) I expect it to reach at least $3 at some point in 2026, and furthermore, given that the asset price is currently around $2.15, I expect that many holders will find the road ahead to be a little more boring than normally expected.
Here’s why I think so: target price It will be proven true before 2027 begins.
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XRP has already hit an all-time high of $3.65 in 2025. Therefore, it is not impossible for the price to return to levels above $3.00, and depending on how you look at it, my price target may not even be considered that ambitious. But what could actually cause this movement to pick up?
One of the most important things to watch is whether smart contract activity on the XRP Ledger’s (XRPL) Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain will start to look like real developers. ecosystem It is aimed at decentralized applications (dApps), not just for curiosity. For reference, a sidechain is a separate blockchain that remains connected to the mainchain. EthereumStyle smart contracts allow developers to reuse tools and code without having to learn a new stack. Since the XRPL sidechain was launched in mid-2025, 2026 will be the time for investors to see if it will actually be used for any meaningful purpose.
As of January 8th, there is less than $50,000 in Total Value Lock (TVL) hosted on XRP’s EVM sidechain, meaning it is not actually being used by anyone with significant capital. If this situation starts to change as a result of Ripple promoting XRP to users such as financial institutions, there is a good chance that the price of XRP will increase depending on the amount of sidechain usage.
Another important factor is whether Ripple’s strategy starts to gain traction among institutional investors. This is because it is difficult for competitors to imitate.
To this end, Ripple, the company in charge of XRP, has consistently moved towards a more bank-like posture, including a reported application for US National Bank Charter and pursuing a Federal Reserve Master Account for custodial infrastructure related to its stablecoin efforts. The more Ripple establishes itself as a place for banks and exchange companies to conduct business on the blockchain, the more XRP it will be able to operate, but assuming that continues to happen, it will be a gradual and slow process. We hope that some announcements regarding new pilot programs with financial institutions will result in a slight increase in the price of this coin, but don’t expect any announcements to send the coin to the moon, as the market cap is too large for that to happen at this point.
In addition to all this, Ripple is acquiring companies that provide cryptocurrency financial plumbing in order to offer similar services to its customers and make the prospect of adopting XRP as a financial tool more attractive. Between its acquisitions of prime broker Hidden Road and stablecoin payments platform Rail last year, Ripple’s suite of capabilities will likely continue to grow.
If they announce more acquisitions, the price of XRP will probably go up a bit, and there may be some more acquisitions in the pipeline. Alternatively, acquiring new users of XRP as a result of previous acquisitions would also put some upward pressure on the coin’s price.
Finally, there is a newer, more recursive demand source for XRP that is currently operational. Digital asset treasury (DAT) companies that want to buy up XRP are likely to do so throughout 2026, just as they did in 2025. These purchases alone may not push the coin above $3, but when added to a bucket of other drivers, its price target will seem inevitable rather than unreasonable.
Unfortunately, for cryptocurrencies in general, as well as for XRP, while networks can improve their technology and the services they offer, token prices have remained low or even depressed. It is also possible to expand the use of the chain without imposing significant buying pressure on the native asset itself. And that phenomenon may happen with XRP in 2026. In fact, it almost always happens from time to time with major cryptocurrencies like XRP, so we expect that to be the case, at least for a while.
Therefore, I still think it is very likely that XRP will reach $3.00 or higher in 2026. My basic scenario is that if we see increased activity on the EVM sidechain and Ripple’s footprint of both customers and serving institutions continues to grow, we will see XRP revisit the $3.00 mark.
But it won’t happen overnight, and the journey may be more bumpy (or tedious) than investors expect.
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