XRP Price at 52-Week Low as Institutional Demand Remains Elusive

XRP's price action this year has been underwhelming, despite regulatory wins and increased adoption of Ripple's network. The token trades near $1, a level it hasn't seen since November 2024, and is down more than half over the past year.

The XRP price has fallen in tandem with the overall crypto market, but its decline stands out due to the positive developments surrounding Ripple. Regulators have reclassified XRP as a digital commodity, and XRP ETFs have attracted over $1 billion in investments.

Standard Chartered's forecast of $28 for XRP by 2030 hinges on the token capturing payment volume from Ripple's network. However, this assumption is being tested as RLUSD, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Ripple, has grown to around $800 million on the XRP Ledger.

The wallets driving RLUSD's growth are primarily institutions and trading desks, which means that much of the payment volume handled by Ripple does not touch XRP. This trend could continue if banks stick to traditional systems and dollar stablecoins become the preferred choice for cross-border payments.