XRP on the path to $1,000? Analysis of fundamental factors and forecast from a former Goldman Sachs analyst
On Monday, the XRP exchange rate showed a confident increase of 9.3%, reaching a local high around $1.29. This momentum was supported by several factors, including active accumulation of the coin by large holders and renewed interest in a long-term forecast, according to which the asset could soar to $1,000 by 2030. The current rise also coincides with a general activation in the altcoin market, which strengthens the bullish sentiment.
What is behind the rise of XRP?
On the eve of the rally, according to data from the analytical platform Santiment, market sentiment around XRP fell to its lowest levels since October 2025. However, historical data indicates that powerful price impulses often originate precisely in moments of total pessimism. Most of the major surges of this cryptocurrency occurred when retail investors lost all interest in it. This is a classic "buy the fear" pattern.
The key macroeconomic trigger for the trend reversal was the easing of geopolitical tensions. Investors, sensing reduced risks, began to return to riskier assets. Bitcoin rose to approximately $65,300, gold gained about 2%, and the commodity market reacted with a drop in oil prices of more than 3%. Against this backdrop, XRP not only held its positions but also consolidated around $1.22, showing a daily increase of 3.25%.
Large players continue to accumulate XRP
In addition to macroeconomic factors, the coin receives strong support from its largest holders. According to blockchain data, wallets with a balance of over 1 million XRP currently hold 74.1% of the total market supply. Over the past six months, these "whales" have increased their holdings by approximately 1.53 billion tokens. This indicates a high degree of confidence among institutional investors in the long-term potential of the asset, despite recent corrections.
"Traders are closely watching the increase in the number of Ripple's partners in the field of institutional payments and the development of tokenization processes on the XRP Ledger blockchain. Both of these directions have supported the long-term confidence of holders, despite recent price drawdowns," note Santiment analysts.
Forecast of $1,000: Reality or Fantasy?
Against this backdrop, Dom Kwok, co-founder of the educational app EasyA and a former Goldman Sachs analyst, voiced an ambitious target for XRP — $1,000 by 2030. His forecast is based on expected use cases and an influx of new crypto users.
The specialist compares the current evolution of the blockchain industry with the era of the internet's inception. According to him, the World Wide Web only became truly mainstream after the emergence of simple and useful services. The specificity of the crypto sphere, in Kwok's opinion, lies in the capital distribution mechanism: projects launched on the basis of XRPL create value directly for the XRP coin itself, rather than accumulating it within third-party overlays.
In his calculations, he also relies on data on the number of users: "Currently, only 7% of the planet's inhabitants own cryptocurrencies." Kwok believes that when the rest catch up, they will ignore the largest assets. Newcomers are put off by the high prices of top coins, and XRP looks more accessible to them. "They will buy neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum — the choice will fall on XRP," the expert is confident.
It is obvious that a jump from the current $1.22 to $1,000 would require attracting trillions of dollars into the token, so that XRP's market capitalization exceeds $60 trillion. Such growth is only possible with an unprecedented level of adoption, a massive expansion of the crypto market, and the widespread use of the XRP Ledger in international financial and commercial settlements.
My expert view: The forecast of $1,000 looks extremely ambitious and rather falls into the category of a "perfect scenario" for a decade ahead. However, the current dynamics of accumulation by whales and the fundamental development of the Ripple ecosystem do create a solid foundation for long-term growth. In the short term, the key level for XRP remains the $1.30 mark. Its confident overcoming will open the way to testing the $1.50–$1.60 zone.