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A prominent market expert has shared 20 reasons he believes XRP could be the best investment for 2026 despite recent weakness.
Notably, XRP entered 2025 with bullish momentum after gaining nearly 46% in January and reclaiming levels above $3. However, this early uptick failed to hold.
Amid the ongoing broader market downtrend, XRP has collapsed 33.78% in a 3-month period, and now trades around $1.88. This translates to a roughly 9.5% crash for the year, with XRP on pace to log its first annual decline since the 2022 bear market.
Despite this underwhelming performance, several analysts argue that 2025 has quietly prepared the foundation for a major move higher in 2026.
One of the individuals behind this view is market commentator Bearable Bull, who recently presented 20 developments from 2025 that he believes position XRP as a standout investment for the coming year. Below is a list of these developments:
1. SEC case officially resolved
The long-running legal battle between Ripple and the U.S. SEC reached a definitive conclusion in August 2025. Ripple agreed to a $125 million fine, as both parties withdrew their appeals. This resolution removed one of the largest regulatory risks hanging over XRP.
2. Spot XRP ETFs launched and gaining traction
Notably, spot XRP ETFs went live last month, with Canary Capital’s ETF debuting on Nov. 13. By Dec. 3, total inflows surpassed $800 million, making XRP the second-fastest asset to reach this milestone. The latest feat involved these products crossing $1 billion in net inflows on Dec. 16.
3. Vanguard allows XRP ETF trading
On Dec. 2, 2025, Vanguard reversed its long-standing stance on crypto exposure. The investment giant opened access to crypto ETFs, including XRP-focused products, for more than 50 million clients, marking a major shift in institutional accessibility.
4. Partnership linking XRP Ledger with Mastercard ecosystem
Ripple announced a collaboration on Nov. 5, 2025, involving Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini. The partnership enables settlements for Gemini Credit Card transactions using Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, expanding real-world payment use cases.
5. Evernorth accumulation
Ripple-backed Evernorth accumulated roughly 388 million XRP by late October 2025, representing about $1 billion in value. The purchases occurred through open-market activity tied to SPAC merger and IPO plans, leading to speculation around a potential supply shock.
6. Ripple acquires GTreasury
On Oct. 16, 2025, Ripple completed a $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury. This pushed Ripple deeper into corporate treasury management and bolstered its ability to integrate crypto assets into enterprise financial operations.
7. Ripple rebrands Hidden Road
Ripple rebranded Hidden Road as Ripple Prime after acquiring the firm earlier in 2025. Notably, the platform has also secured access to DTCC netting services.
8. RLUSD surpasses $1 billion market cap
Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD crossed the $1 billion market cap threshold in early November. By early December, its valuation approached $1.3 billion amid deployments across both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum.
9. Yen carry trade unwind narrative
Discussions around a potential reversal of the Japanese yen carry trade, estimated at roughly $4.5 trillion, have emerged amid BoJ rate hikes. Some believe such an unwind could increase demand for XRP through corridors like SBI Remit, although no confirmed adoption has emerged.
10. Federal Reserve rate cuts
The Federal Reserve implemented three quarter-point rate cuts in 2025. The most recent cut on Dec. 10 lowered the federal funds rate to a range of 3.50% to 3.75%, indicating a potential pause and a more accommodative backdrop for risk assets.
11. Global M2 expansion
Interestingly, Global M2 money supply climbed to record levels between $108 trillion and $111 trillion in 2025. Crypto markets, including XRP, lagged this growth, but historical patterns show digital assets often respond later during monetary expansion phases.
12. Increased overnight repo liquidity
To stabilize reserve levels, the Federal Reserve conducted sizable overnight repo operations throughout the year. One of the largest injections reached $29.4 billion on Oct. 31, representing the biggest operation in years. Such liquidity could help risk assets like XRP.
13. Liquidity support without formal QE
While the Fed has not announced a full quantitative easing program after ending quantitative tightening in December, reserve management purchases and repo activity effectively injected liquidity into the system, creating conditions similar to early-stage easing cycles.
14. Proposed tariff dividend stimulus
In late 2025, discussions emerged around a proposed stimulus plan involving $1,000 to $2,000 tariff-funded dividends. Although not implemented, the proposal bolstered investor expectations, as such capital could flow into crypto assets like XRP.
15. Pro-crypto stance from the Trump administration
President Donald Trump hosted a crypto-focused summit in March 2025, confirming a supportive policy environment. This stance contributed to SEC pullbacks and the passage of the GENIUS Act in July.
16. Progress of the CLARITY Act
The House passed the CLARITY Act on July 17, 2025, pushing to the Senate. Senate deliberation has since stalled and will shift into 2026. However, this keeps regulatory clarity on the agenda.
17. Ongoing scrutiny around Tether
Concerns surrounding Tether persisted through 2025, including questions about reserves and an S&P downgrade. While no collapse occurred, new regulations under the GENIUS Act increased oversight.
18. Completion of ISO 20022 migration
SWIFT finalized its ISO 20022 migration on November 22, 2025. However, most community figures have persistently argued that XRP is not compliant.
19. Ripple moves toward becoming a bank
On Dec. 12, 2025, Ripple gained conditional approval from the OCC for a national trust bank charter. The approval focuses on custody and settlement services.
20. Preallocation theory
Speculation suggesting that Ripple has allocated some of its escrowed XRP tokens to financial institutions emerged. However, these XRP preallocation theories remained unconfirmed.