XRP Price Prediction: Will ETF Hopes Offset Bearish Chart Patterns?

The cryptocurrency market is bouncing back, with the Crypto Fear and Greed Index climbing from 17 last week to a neutral 51, signaling a shift from fear to cautious optimism.

The top 20 cryptocurrencies have seen a minimum of 2% gains in the past 24 hours and over 10% weekly growth, driven in part by U.S. President Donald Trump’s more moderate stance on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and China.

Analysts Divided Over XRP Price Predictions as Ripple Trails Behind Market Momentum

Despite being the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, XRP has failed to fully participate in the broader rally. 

The token is up just 1.33% over the past 24 hours, while its trading volume has dipped over 10%, casting doubts on many bullish XRP price predictions that were widespread in December.

🟢🚀Only $XRP holders can agree we're in a bull run

Over 485% gain YTD pic.twitter.com/QHTlgcDMJh

— Coinwaft (@coinwaft) January 16, 2025

One notable voice on X (formerly Twitter), analyst ReliefRemiX, projected an ambitious XRP price prediction ranging between $65 and $100. 

Another long-time XRP supporter suggested a more conservative target between $37 and $50 by the end of 2025. 

These forecasts are largely based on Ripple’s growing adoption by financial institutions and its claim of offering faster, cheaper alternatives to SWIFT for cross-border payments.

RippleNet, Ripple’s enterprise blockchain solution, boasts settlement times under two minutes, significantly faster than the hour-plus required for traditional SWIFT transactions. 

🚨 MONEY MAKING MAY 🚨

Analyst are predicting a $85.00 XRP in May…other analyst are predicting somewhere between $65-$100 🙌 as long as we have our ETFs

These price predictions are based on ETFs. I saw the news and wanted to share with you beautiful souls before I went to…

— X Remi Relief X (@ReliefRemiX) April 23, 2025

Yet, current market dynamics appear to be challenging these bullish XRP price prediction.

According to Coinglass data, XRP’s open interest in the derivatives market has declined by 7.01% over the past 24 hours, now standing at $4.13 billion. 

This drop triggered $5.44 million in long position liquidations, outpacing $2.1 million in shorts, an indication of weakening bullish conviction.

On-Chain Metrics Challenge XRP Bull Case

Further on-chain data from XRP Ledger paints a cautious picture.

The number of on-chain payments has plummeted from a peak of over 3 million in August 2024 to just 1.33 million, a decline of more than 50%. 

Developer activity is also low; Token Terminal reports only about 1,400 code commits in the past year, with just 33 active developers contributing to XRP-related repositories.

These fundamental weaknesses could temper the optimism surrounding some of the more extreme XRP price predictions circulating on crypto Twitter.

Despite this, institutional interest remains strong. 

On April 15, market research firm Kaiko suggested that an XRP-focused ETF could likely gain approval this year, citing the token’s strong liquidity and increased spot trading volumes in the U.S., levels not seen since before its delisting during the SEC lawsuit in 2020.

Adding to the momentum, CME Group announced plans on April 23 to list XRP futures as part of its crypto derivatives offerings. 

Starting May 19, trade regulated, capital-efficient futures on XRP, available in larger- and micro-sized contracts, so you can scale your exposure with greater precision and flexibility.

More on XRP futures ➡️ https://t.co/SzDtBmkG7r pic.twitter.com/BDJRzYSvTd

— CME Group (@CMEGroup) April 24, 2025

The product is scheduled to go live on May 19, pending regulatory approval. 

These futures contracts would enable investors to speculate on XRP’s price without directly holding the token.

In Asia, institutional engagement is also rising. Hong Kong-based HashKey Capital recently launched the HashKey XRP Tracker Fund, which it aims to convert into a fully regulated ETF. 

According to its April 18 announcement, this is the first investment fund in Asia specifically designed to track XRP’s performance.

Technical Analysis: XRP Short-term Price Prediction

The 4-hour chart of $XRP/USDT shows that the token is currently trading around $2.1887, consolidating between a descending trendline resistance and a horizontal support level at $2.0714. 

The price action appears to be forming a descending triangle, a structure that often suggests a bearish continuation, especially when it follows an uptrend.

The descending trendline, drawn from the recent local high near the $2.30 region, has consistently acted as dynamic resistance, limiting upward momentum. 

On the downside, the $2.0714 support level has been tested multiple times, indicating mounting pressure that could eventually result in a breakdown.

$XRP #XRP ANALYSIS: KEY HIGHLIGHTS

💥 Price action: XRP just rejected hard from the $2.30 area and is now testing the $2.16 support. Momentum is fading on all intraday timeframes, with a clear lower high on the 1h and 4h. No bullish reversal pattern yet, and the 15m shows… pic.twitter.com/wbY8bnA2IG

— Unknown.Ai (@UnknowTraderAi) April 24, 2025

Should $XRP breach the $2.0714 support, the chart projects a potential move down toward $1.7373, which represents a decline of nearly 20% from current levels. 

On the flip side, a breakout above the descending trendline could shift XRP’s short-term price prediction back in favor of the bulls. 

In such a case, $XRP may attempt to reclaim the $2.30 level and potentially extend the rally toward the $2.4464 resistance, a zone marked with a “magnet” symbol on the chart, indicating strong price attraction or supply concentration.