Standard Chartered Predicts XRP To Hit $12.50 by 2028 Following ETF Prospects and Legal Clarity #NewsETFs

Standard Chartered forecasts that XRP could reach $12.50 by the end of 2028, representing a potential 500% rise from its current price. This projection is based on several factors, including regulatory clarity, wider adoption, and increasing use in payments and tokenization. The bank’s global head of digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick, outlined a roadmap for XRP’s growth, with milestones of $5.50 in 2025, $8.00 in 2026, and $10.40 in 2027. By 2029, he expects XRP to maintain its $12.50 level.

A major catalyst for this growth is the anticipated approval of a spot XRP ETF in the U.S. by the third quarter of 2025. Kendrick estimates this could lead to $4-8 billion in inflows within the first year. These projections mirror similar expectations made by JPMorgan. XRP’s core use case—facilitating cross-border and cross-currency payments—is also expected to play a key role in its value growth, particularly as stablecoin transaction volumes are projected to rise tenfold in the next four years.

XRP’s blockchain, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), is designed primarily for payments, and Kendrick believes it could also become a key player in tokenization, comparing it to Stellar in terms of structure and function. Ripple’s recent initiatives, including the development of a U.S. Treasury-backed fund and the launch of its RLUSD stablecoin, support this outlook.

The recent conclusion of Ripple’s legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also cleared a major hurdle. The SEC dropped its appeal, and Ripple agreed to a $50 million settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. Kendrick noted that this outcome had been anticipated, especially in light of the recent change in U.S. political leadership.

Despite these developments, XRP’s market response has remained muted. Following the ETF-related news, XRP’s price dropped by about 4%. The ETF in question does not directly hold XRP but uses swap agreements to track its price, which may explain the lack of immediate investor excitement.

Challenges remain for XRP. Kendrick pointed out that its low-fee structure and smaller developer ecosystem might limit its value capture compared to other assets. However, he believes that broader adoption and institutional momentum could offset these concerns.

Currently, XRP is the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Kendrick projects that by 2028, it will overtake Ethereum and become the second-largest non-stablecoin digital asset. He also predicted that Bitcoin could reach $500,000 by 2029, with XRP achieving a higher relative performance.

In related forecasts, Kendrick downgraded Ethereum’s 2025 price target from $10,000 to $4,000 while projecting that Avalanche (AVAX) will hit $250 by 2029.