Back in 2018, XRP made a brief but massive surge that saw the token hit its all-time high (ATH) price of $3.40.
Though the spike was short-lived – and the token spent much of the following 3 years valued in cents and not in dollars, Bitcoin’s (BTC) bull run in 2021 did help XRP breach the key psychological level of $1 and maintain it – albeit with high volatility and multiple ups and downs – for a better part of the year.
The question of many a crypto trader’s mind has been when, and indeed if, the cryptocurrency can again ride high and reach the all-important $1 price before, hopefully, aiming for its old record prices.
Why has XRP not rallied with the crypto market?
This year, however, despite Bitcoin reaching a new ATH – as it did in 2021 – XRP has, for the most part, failed to take part in the broader crypto market rally and is, unlike most major coins and tokens, in the red in the year-to-date (YTD) chart and boasts a price of $0.51 at the time of publication.
XRP YTD price chart. Source: Finbold
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against and the ongoing legal battle with Ripple Labs is one of the key factors frequently identified as keeping the token’s price depressed.
Exactly for this reason, a strong argument can be made that the cryptocurrency will rally and surge toward $1 – and possibly beyond – as soon as the courtroom fight is resolved.
Bolstering this case is the fact that for all the pressure XRP has been under, it remains a popular and frequently traded token with nearly 5 million addresses holding at least some of it, per the data retrieved from CoinCarp.
Ownership share among top XRP holders. Source: CoinCarp
On the other hand, it is also noteworthy that XRP ownership is fairly centralized, given that the 10 biggest holders account for 42.48% of the cryptocurrency and the top 100 holders for 73%.
This means that the remaining 27% is spread across nearly 5 million addresses. Additionally, data shows that all recent trades made by the biggest 47 holders have been sales, though the activity has become more balanced in the remaining 53 of the top 100 holders.
XRP likely to rocket to $1 in late 2024
Still, given that recent developments indicate that the legal fight between Ripple and the SEC might be entering its final phase, it is possible that a broader analysis of the upcoming altcoin performance could offer a hint as to when XRP could rocket to $1.
Indeed, Michaël van de Poppe, a prominent crypto expert on X, recently shared his estimate that altcoins have finished their correction phase and are set to continue their uptrend. The analyst continued by stating that the slow upward trajectory could turn vertical sometime in either the third or fourth quarter of 2024.
Indeed, given that, for all the pressure, XRP has mostly maintained a price above $0.51, a broader altcoin bull run in the second half of the year, paired with either the resolution to the legal battle or a strong indication that the case is about to end, there is a good chance that the token could rocket to $1 in late 2024.
Again, the promise of the rally is bolstered by XRP’s historic performance as well, given that it skyrocketed $0.81 upon the initial favorable ruling for Ripple in July 2023. A final triumph is, once the previous rally and the current state of the crypto market, indeed likely to help XRP skyrocket.