Over the past couple of years, we have seen an unprecedented wave of cryptocurrency adoption. While Bitcoin is the most popular digital asset out there, it is not the only growing asset. Platforms like Ripple (XRP) are emerging as solid, long-term investment options. But Ripple is more than just a cryptocurrency and has offerings entirely different from the other ones.
Unlike top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, Ripple is a payment protocol intended to streamline international and cross-border payments. Ripple’s technology enables quick exchanges between different currencies and gold through a peer-to-peer (P2P) decentralized concept. This eliminates potential settlements between mainstream financial institutions.
Despite the ongoing lawsuit between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple, the fintech firm’s native token XRP rallied significantly recently, rocketing past the $1 mark and almost hit $2 for the first time since 2018.
So should you buy XRP at its current price? Is XRP a worthy investment? Go on and find out more about this digital asset and whether this is the right time to invest.
XRP At $0.60: Should You Buy?
Since launching in 2013, XRP has seen some massive price fluctuations. Up until 2017, its price had barely managed to reach $0.01. But in March and April of that year, its price began to rise steadily. By the end of April, it was up to $0.05. And it did not stop there.
By early 2019, it was around the $0.30 mark. Then, in late 2020, it went on a bull run, hitting nearly $0.70, but then crashed due to the uncertainty over the SEC lawsuit. Since then, its price has stabilized somewhat, hovering around the $0.55 mark by the end of March. Finally, in early April 2021, XRP shot past the $1 mark and reached $1.79. At the time of writing, it is trading at $0.6.
There are currently many reasons to invest in XRP. In March 2021, Ripple announced that they are piloting the creation of private ledgers based on the public XRP ledger to enable the issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). They claim that it can handle tens of thousands of transactions per second (TPS) and has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of TPS.
It is likely that in the future, there will be more private endeavours like this. It is also quite possible that many future banks and financial institutions could use a private version of the XRP ledger.
Furthermore, XRP appears to have the upper hand in the ongoing SEC-Ripple lawsuit, pushing the token’s price upward. Given the optimistic journey Ripple has ahead, buying XRP at $0.6 is a great entry point.
Check Out: How Much Will XRP Be Worth In The Next 5 Years?
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
XRP: A Buying Opportunity
The crypto community is aware that banks and financial institutions appreciate Ripple more than any other cryptocurrency. As a result, it makes sure that worldwide industries adopt it to a greater extent. XRP is accepted by various significant banks and financial entities like MUFG, BBVA, SEB, Axis Bank, and many more.
Based on Ripple’s solid fundamentals, several experts have predicted a bright future for XRP. According to WalletInvestor, XRP price will grow from $0.6 to $1.051 in one year. That makes XRP a viable investment. The long-term earning potential is 57.86%. The predicted price for the end of 2026 is $2.556.
As per DigitalCoin's analysis, the price of XRP will rise in the next five years, starting from $0.6 as of today’s price to $2.032. It will go up to $1.099 by 2022 and continue its growth in 2023-2024. Based on this forecast too, XRP is a profitable long-term investment.
Ripple is also highly correlated with Bitcoin, much like many other digital assets. For example, as world markets crashed in March 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, so did the prices of many cryptocurrencies. Alongside Bitcoin, XRP dropped to around $0.15, although both of them subsequently recovered.
Commenting on XRP’s decentralized nature and similarities to Bitcoin, Ripple’s Matt Hamilton recently said that XRP "is decentralized just like Bitcoin. XRP was created by Bitcoin developers as a 'better Bitcoin' once they realised that Bitcoin's energy usage was not scalable. So its usecases are basically the same as Bitcoin: making peer to peer payments without a trusted 3rd party.”
Don't Miss: 23 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Ripple XRP Today
Bottom Line
If you are prepared to hold your tokens over an extended time, then XRP could well be a worthy investment. It is relatively inexpensive, so it is perfect for first-time investors. Keeping expert predictions in mind, it certainly looks like a bright future could be on the horizon for XRP. As financial institutions need more and more liquidity to complete financial transactions, XRP could provide some solutions to the problems associated with that issue.
It is important to note that XRP adoption has been slow, and the price has remained relatively stagnant for a while now. However, its price increased massively in value (over 35,000%) during the infamous crypto bull run in 2017. Therefore, if the digital asset continues to gain traction, especially as it did in April 2021, its mainstream adoption will become more widespread.
If that is the case and confidence grows in the currency, XRP is poised to surpass its all-time high of $3.84.
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Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
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