Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, has initiated coverage on XRP with a bullish outlook that positions the digital asset for remarkable growth over the next few years. In a comprehensive report released Tuesday, Kendrick projected that XRP could experience a 500% surge to reach $12.50 by the end of 2028, driven by regulatory developments, expanded use cases, and institutional adoption. Most notably, the analysis forecasts that XRP’s market capitalization will eventually overtake Ethereum’s, making it the second-largest non-stablecoin digital asset behind itcoin">Bitcoin.
A key catalyst in this predicted rise is the anticipated approval of an XRP spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the SEC, which Kendrick expects in the third quarter of 2025. This regulatory milestone could potentially unlock between $4 billion and $8 billion in inflows during its first year of trading. The report also connects recent regulatory developments with broader market shifts, including the SEC dropping its appeal in the XRP case following President Trump’s election. Standard Chartered’s price targets include intermediate goals of $5.50 by the end of 2025 and $8.00 in 2026, before reaching the ultimate target of $12.50 by 2028.
The bank’s optimism about XRP stems from its assessment of the XRP Ledger’s evolving utility as both a payments chain and potential tokenization platform. Despite acknowledging challenges such as XRP’s relatively small developer base and low-fee model, Kendrick believes these will be outweighed by positive drivers including increasing institutional adoption. This forecast comes as XRP gains momentum in traditional financial markets through multiple developments—including the recent launch of a 2x leveraged ETF tied to XRP futures on NYSE Arca, oinbase">Coinbase’s filing to launch nano XRP futures, and Ripple’s strategic $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, which aims to integrate the XRP Ledger into global prime brokerage services.
