Is XRP Dead? What the Latest Data Says About Its Future

Once known as a disruptor of cross-border payments, XRP has long faced criticism as a crypto with an uncertain legal future. Now that the lawsuit with the SEC has finally ended, many are asking: Is XRP dead, or has it proven its resilience?

To answer that, it’s worth looking deeper. Therefore, let’s revisit XRP’s roots, examine current market data, and see whether it’s still on the right track.

Along the way, I’ll break down both the bullish and bearish arguments, giving you a balanced view before you rush to an exchange like Binance to buy XRP or decide it’s smarter to wait for a better entry point.

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Is XRP Dead?

While many people question, "Is XRP dead?", the charts and data say otherwise. Despite skepticism, recent technical indicators and on-chain activity show XRP is far from dead.

In November 2024, a long-term chart pattern called a symmetrical triangle, which had been forming since around 2018, finally broke upward in November 2024. This is a bullish signal, as it often means the price can rise by roughly the triangle’s height. Here, it points toward a possible target around $12.60.

Also, big XRP holders (commonly known as "whales") entered their positions between late July and early August 2025. Over those four days, they added about 1.2 billion XRP, valued at around $3.8 billion.

This indicates that big players are confident XRP still has room to grow and are preparing for a potential breakout. When whales buy in such large amounts, it often signals they believe the price will rise in the near future, as they typically have access to deeper market insights and long-term strategies.

Then, on August 13, 2025, XRP formed a symmetrical triangle on its 4-hour chart, reaching near $3.2257. Analysts noted that if XRP broke above $3.36, it could push further toward $3.40-$3.60.

More importantly, XRP’s USD price reached new heights recently. I know, this may not be fully representative of the full story from other XRP charts, but it’s still a strong sign that the market is paying attention.

Still, the market is unpredictable, so it's important to dig deeper into XRP’s current state before making any moves. In the end, your choice should be based on a fuller picture – and that’s exactly what I’ll talk about.

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Why Do People Think XRP is Dead?

Although current data shows XRP is not dead, I think the perception isn’t entirely baseless, with a combination of legal history, adoption doubts, and fierce competition.

The most noticeable aspect is due to the XRP’s legal issue. For more than three years, XRP lived under the shadow of the SEC lawsuit, which accused Ripple of selling XRP as an unregistered security. Unfortunately, this courtroom drama had real-world consequences, which I’ll tell you in detail in the next section.

Another big sticking point is people’s skepticism about XRP’s real-world adoption. On paper, Ripple boasts over 300 bank and financial institution partnerships. In theory, this should translate to high transaction volume on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). However, in practice, the on-chain data tells a more modest story.

In Q1 2025, average daily spot trading volume reached a whopping $3.2 billion, driven by both institutional and retail interest. Yet, on-chain activity has decreased since transactions dropped by 37%, and wallet creation fell by over 40% compared to the previous quarter.

That limits how we can measure true adoption. Still, steady growth in user addresses and payment-driven transaction volume offers some reassurance that usage is gradually climbing.

Today’s crowded landscape may also be the reason why the activity seems off. When XRP first launched in 2012, there were very few competitors in the cross-border payments space. XRP was one of the fastest and cheapest settlement networks available, offering near-instant transactions at minimal cost.

However, current XRP activity often pales compared to blockchains like Polygon or Solana, which see constant use in DeFi, NFTs, and gaming. Additionally, projects like Stellar (XLM), Algorand, and even stablecoins are targeting the same market segment, often with more developer-friendly ecosystems and built-in DeFi capabilities.

Ethereum’s layer-2 solutions and emerging blockchains like Aptos and Sui also offer fast, low-cost transactions while still enabling smart contracts and advanced applications, areas where XRPL is only now expanding. This makes XRP feel "old tech" to some in the fast-moving crypto world.

The "hype fatigue" may also be the reason why people think XRP is dead. For casual traders, price action often speaks louder than tech fundamentals. That said, XRP has struggled to break above the $3.15-$3.20 range in recent years, and each rally tends to stall before reclaiming its all-time high of $3.84 set back in January 2018.

Without a clear, sustained breakout, the question "Is XRP dead?" may keep popping up in conversations. Every time XRP misses a bullish pattern or loses steam after a quick pump, the skeptics can get louder. Above that, with faster, flashier projects, it's easy for people to think that XRP is old news.

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A Quick Refresher: Why XRP Was Created

Before we jump into price charts and legal battles, it’s important to ask: why does XRP even exist? Looking at its foundation helps us see whether today’s XRP still reflects its original purpose. If we know its starting point, we may be better calculate whether the project is moving closer to or further away from its goals.

XRP is the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger, a blockchain created by Ripple Labs back in 2012. Unlike many cryptocurrencies that started as purely experimental projects, Ripple’s goal was clear from the beginning: to make cross-border money transfers quicker and more affordable.^[1]

Ripple Labs positioned itself as a fintech company that wanted to work with banks and financial institutions. This early focus on utility and partnerships distinguished XRP from many other digital coins that were mainly seen as speculative assets.

A major difference with existing cryptocurrencies at that time was XRP's consensus mechanism. Instead of Proof-of-Work mining (like Bitcoin) or Proof-of-Stake validators (like Ethereum), the XRP Ledger uses a unique consensus protocol where trusted validators agree on transactions within seconds.

This approach makes XRP transactions much faster, settling in 3–5 seconds compared to Bitcoin’s 10 minutes or more. Costs are also minimal; sending XRP usually costs less than a penny, while Bitcoin or Ethereum transactions can become expensive during network congestion.

At its peak, XRP briefly overtook Ethereum to become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, right behind Bitcoin. The hype was fueled by optimism about Ripple's partnerships with banks and the belief that XRP could revolutionize the global payments industry.

However, the excitement didn’t last. As the broader crypto market cooled down in 2018, XRP’s price fell sharply along with many other coins. So, is Ripple dead? Well, critics argued Ripple's signing of partnerships wasn’t enough evidence that these banks were actually using XRP at scale.

Speculative hype faded, and XRP holders watched the token’s value drop from near $4 to under $0.30 in a year. This period left many retail traders frustrated and skeptical about XRP’s long-term potential. The real shock came in December 2020, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs.

The SEC Lawsuit: XRP’s Biggest Battle

I touched on a glimpse of the XRP VS SEC lawsuit in the previous section, but it actually deserves its own spotlight. This "courtroom drama" shaped XRP’s journey for the past four years, and people wonder, "Is XRP dead?".

The Lawsuit Timeline

The story began in December 2020, when the US SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and co-founder Chris Larsen. The SEC claimed that Ripple had raised over $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP, which the agency considered an unregistered security offering.

A transaction is a "security" when it involves:

• Investment of money;
• Into a common enterprise;
• With an expectation of profit;
• Primarily from the efforts of others.

The SEC argued Ripple’s early XRP sales to big investors ticked all four boxes. In its view, XRP sales looked like selling shares of Ripple, as investors gave Ripple money, and the funds went into Ripple’s business.

Moreover, unlike Bitcoin, Ripple Labs is a real company with executives, offices, and marketing, making it easier to sue than a decentralized network.

This accusation sent shockwaves through the crypto market: XRP’s price tumbled almost instantly, major US exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken delisted it, and people’s confidence took a big hit. At this time, no wonder the question, "Is Ripple dead?" arose.

For years, Ripple and the SEC battled in court, with both sides exchanging victories and setbacks. The drawn-out fight created uncertainty, making many traders hesitant to touch the asset at all and think that XRP is dead.

In 2023, Judge Analisa Torres issued a split decision. First, the judge found that institutional sales (where Ripple directly sold XRP to hedge funds and other big investors under formal contracts) did count as unregistered securities offerings.

These transactions met all parts of the Howey Test, a legal standard used to determine whether something is an "investment contract".

On the other hand, programmatic sales (those blind, bid-ask trades on public exchanges, where neither buyer nor seller knew who the other was) ruled that these didn’t meet the "expectation of profits from Ripple’s efforts".

After more back-and-forth (and even preparing for a trial on the institutional sales part), Ripple and the SEC finally settled in August 2024 – but with a twist.

The deal included a $125 million civil penalty and a permanent injunction. In simple terms, that’s the court saying, "You can’t sell XRP to big institutions without following US securities rules ever again".

Public trading of XRP stayed unaffected, but Ripple’s old way of doing large institutional sales was now off-limits. While that settlement was big news, the case wasn’t officially over just yet. Both sides still had the option to appeal.

It wasn’t until August 2025, when neither Ripple nor the SEC filed any further appeals, that the long-running XRP lawsuit could finally be declared truly over. Stuart Alderoty, Ripple's chief legal officer, even took to X, confirming "the end" of the case. He wrote:

Following the Commission's vote today, the SEC and Ripple formally filed directly with the Second Circuit to dismiss their appeals. The end...and now back to business.”

With this official document, Ripple could finally close the book on the SEC case. For XRP holders, it marked a legal victory and the end of years of uncertainty.

Market Reaction After the SEC-Ripple Case Closed

XRP seems to breathe a huge sigh of relief once the legal issue was settled in August 2025, as its market surged. In the 24 hours following the joint dismissal of appeals, the price jumped roughly 11-12%, climbing from around $2.99 to about $3.30-$3.33.

Additionally, the amount of money tied up in XRP futures contracts jumped by about 15%. To put this simply, this means more traders were opening long positions; they bet that XRP’s price would go up.

Institutional trading volumes also increased a whopping 208%, hitting $12.4 billion, which can be a clear sign that big players were still excited about XRP.

Interestingly, on-chain data revealed that whales moved about $1.9 billion worth of XRP in the first 48 hours post-settlement. Normally, large sell-offs can negatively affect prices. However, in this case, new institutional demand absorbed the selling, keeping XRP steady at around $3.30.

This combination of price stability, renewed interest from big investors, and booming trading activity created a clear picture: the market was ready to move forward, free from the SEC lawsuit.

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XRP’s Current State

With the lawsuit finally behind it, there’s no reason for anyone to hold back from getting XRP. In fact, it has reclaimed its spot as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, right behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. It’s definitely not bad for a coin that many had questioned, "Is XRP a dead coin?" before.

So, could history repeat itself when XRP surpasses Ethereum? Well, judging by recent price action (shooting up over 12% in a single day to around $3.35), it’s undeniable that optimism is back.

Interest in XRP is also showing no signs of slowing. The launch of XRP futures on CME attracted swift and substantial participation. It started with $19.3 million in trading volume on day one, and totaled $542 million at the time of writing, with strong open interest at $70.5 million.

On decentralized platforms, XRP activity has increased: Q1 2025 saw over $800 million in DEX trading, a 61% year-on-year increase. Liquidity on wrapped XRP (wXRP) platforms also grew by 42%, supported by increased market-making.

Retail accessibility is also expanding. Coinme added XRP support to over 28,000 ATM locations across the US in June 2025, allowing users to buy and sell the crypto with cash. ETF-style products are also rolling out: 3iQ launched an XRP ETF in Canada in June, while HashKey Capital introduced an XRP tracker fund in Asia.

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The Future of XRP

With the XRP price increasing up to 40% in just a month, some analysts and AI-driven projections suggest prices of $4 to $5 (or even higher) are well within reach by year-end, depending on institutional inflows and market cycles.

I think institutional adoption will also remain a major driver. As more banks, fintech firms, and payment providers integrate XRP and XRPL for cross-border transactions, the token’s demand may be able to climb quickly.

Talking about the XRP Ledger, it continues to prove that it’s more than just a settlement network since it grows into a high-performance blockchain ecosystem.

One of the most recent upgrades is the integration of protocol-level Automated Market Makers (AMMs). Unlike many AMM implementations on Ethereum, XRPL’s design allows for lower slippage and improved price stability, which benefits traders and liquidity providers.

On-chain activity is also on the rise. AMM volumes, measured in XRP, have been increasing steadily. This fact reflects a growing interest in XRPL-based DeFi products, showing that users start to explore the project further.

From a developer perspective, XRPL is attracting new projects and innovation. In March 2025, the network welcomed BlocScale, its first-ever Initial DEX Offering (IDO) launchpad. It’s an important milestone that may spark new token launches and community-driven funding within the XRP ecosystem.

Additionally, Chainlink’s integration into XRPL has supported stablecoin functionality for its stablecoin, RLUSD. With this addition, XRPL can improve its oracle reliability and real-world use cases, and, ultimately, XRP’s long-term potential.

If these trends keep going, XRP will be supported by a strong, active blockchain that delivers real benefits to users and businesses around the world. Its history and current situation may not fully show what XRP can become, but these can give us a glimpse of what its future may look like.

Should I Buy XRP Now?

With predictions pointing to higher prices ahead, XRP certainly looks like an appealing asset. That said, it’s important to pause and assess your situation.

I’m not here to convince you to buy or to stop you from buying because, ultimately, the decision comes down to your goals, your risk tolerance, and how well you understand the market.

The Bullish Argument

The end of Ripple’s long legal battle with the SEC in August 2025 has brought much-needed clarity, and the price action afterward showed strong market confidence. The institutional and on-chain activity of XRP has also increased, which can be appealing if you believe in its long-term adoption.

Take the NIGHT airdrop as an example. Holders of select assets, including XRP, may qualify for free tokens. Although this may not be the only reason to buy, holding XRP can open the door to extra rewards along the way.

Beyond the price speculation and airdrop bonuses, XRP has some practical uses that you may want to consider when choosing the asset:

As always, though, crypto trading comes with risks. If you’re considering XRP, balance its benefits and recent legal clarity with the potential challenges of this market. No matter how strong the outlook seems, it’s wiser to have a fair perspective.

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The Bearish Argument

Remember that crypto prices can swing sharply in either direction. While the bullish case for XRP looks promising, there are also valid reasons why some traders remain cautious – and you should, too.

One major risk is continued regulatory pressure. Even though Ripple recently resolved some key legal battles, it still faces challenges such as a pending $125 million fine and restrictions on XRP sales to institutions.

On top of that, there’s always the possibility that future regulators may revisit past XRP sales, reopening old wounds and creating new uncertainty.

For example, whale sell-offs and large escrow unlocks have triggered steep price drops in the past, reminding investors how vulnerable XRP can be to creating shocks.

Back in February 2025, Ripple released 400 million XRP from escrow (worth $1.136 billion). The market then reacted fast, as the price dropped about 24.6%. It was a clear reminder of how quickly things can turn bearish when a huge amount of tokens suddenly hits circulation.

Also, there’s the issue of competition. Besides newer blockchain projects matching XRP’s strengths, the rapid rise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has the potential to reduce XRP’s relevance in cross-border payments by offering government-backed alternatives.

Think of CBDCs as the digital version of your local currency, but issued directly by central banks. These are fast, secure, and most importantly, backed by governments, which means banks and institutions may prefer them over third-party tokens like XRP.

So, if you’re thinking about buying XRP, it’s best to start small, always monitor the market, and consider diversifying with other assets to spread out your risk. To help you weigh the decision, let’s look at some reasons why buying now can make sense and why waiting may be the smarter move for some.

Table: Comparison between immediate VS delayed XRP purchase

So, is XRP a dead coin, or is it worth buying? Well, at the end of the day, whether you buy XRP now or decide to wait depends on your risk appetite and trading style.

If you believe in Ripple’s long-term vision and want to secure potential airdrops or early price gains, getting in now makes sense. On the other hand, those who prefer playing it safe can wait for a clearer market pullback or watch how competition (like CBDCs and other payment tokens) develops.

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Conclusions

So, is XRP dead? The answer leans toward no. Despite years of legal battles and stagnation, XRP has shown its resilience. Its price has bounced back, and most importantly, its legal standing is now far clearer. Even major exchanges that once delisted it, like Coinbase and Kraken, have reintroduced XRP trading.

It may not carry the same hype as newer coins, but XRP has proven it still holds relevance. That said, no asset is without risks. XRP still faces competition from other blockchains and the volatility of crypto markets. But one thing I can be sure of: at the time of writing, XRP isn’t dead – it’s alive and worth watching closely.

The content published on this website is not aimed to give any kind of financial, investment, trading, or any other form of advice. BitDegree.org does not endorse or suggest you to buy, sell or hold any kind of cryptocurrency. Before making financial investment decisions, do consult your financial advisor.

Scientific References

1. Ammer M. A., Aldhyani T. H. H.: 'Deep Learning Algorithm to Predict Cryptocurrency Fluctuation Prices: Increasing Investment Awareness';

2. Korkusuz B.: 'Volatility Transmission in Digital Assets: Ethereum’s Rising Influence'.