Ripple’s cross-border token had a spectacular run in the past year, which culminated in the summer of 2025 with a surge to a new all‑time high of $3.65. Thus, it managed to break the 2017 peak after more than eight years of sitting below $3.4.
However, its rally has hit a massive roadblock that has crippled it from pushing to and beyond those levels. What’s particularly painful for the XRP Army is that Bitcoin managed to tap a new all‑time high earlier this week. Moreover, BNB has emerged as one of the top gainers at one point lately and has overtaken XRP in terms of market cap following a mind‑blowing rally.
The question now arises whether the focus has switched from Ripple’s token to others, and whether it will ever reclaim its former glory. Or, it’s all over, folks.
XRP’s Downfall
XRP’s current market structure shows a clear lack of fresh buying momentum, which, aligned with other altcoins’ gains, resulted in the aforementioned decline to fifth place. A considerable portion of this could be attributed to the lack of new catalysts.
For instance, XRP’s most substantial price gains came after the US elections due to the hope of a new, friendlier regulatory regime in the country after Trump’s win and the inevitable departure of then‑SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Then came the hopes of a favorable resolution in the legal case between the securities watchdog and the company behind the asset.
Now, though, the excitement for both is gone, which is evident from the missing positive price action. Instead, investors are rotating toward faster‑moving assets, such as BNB, ASTER, and a few more.
In terms of a more micro trend, it’s evident that XRP, alongside the rest of the market, experienced one of its worst crashes in recent history. Ripple’s token plunged to under $1.5 on several exchanges before recovering some ground to $2.50 as of press time. This also increases the probability of a bull run ending.
Can XRP Turn the Tables?
Although the situation looks grim at the moment, Ripple’s native token still has an ace up its sleeve in the form of another catalyst that has the community excited: spot XRP ETFs in the US. With just a few months left until the end of the year, the odds on Polymarket, alongside the general expectations from experts, show a decisive win for the XRP Army.
However, there are a few drawbacks here as well. First, the US government has been shut down for over a week, which hinders any progress from institutions like the SEC. Second, with a 99% chance for an XRP ETF approval in 2025 on Polymarket, there’s fear that this development has already been priced in.
What cannot be priced in, though, is the actual impact on the native token when the inflows start (or don’t). If investors rush in to purchase shares of the newly‑launched XRP ETFs, the likely scenario is that the underlying asset will surge, unless there’s a black swan event or a market‑wide crash, of course.
If they remain on the sidelines, though, the effects could be even more profound but in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, the demand in some of the regulated XRP products that launched in the past year in the US has been quite impressive, which should be promising for Ripple’s community if those green lights come from the SEC.