XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) remains one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world, but one thing has always held it back from the heights of Bitcoin or Ethereum—its price. XRP has never reached $4, and it has only traded above $3 in two periods, hitting $3.84 in the 2018 mania and $3.65 last July. Ripple has grown into one of the biggest companies in crypto, yet the token’s value has never reflected the size of the network behind it.
For XRP to start closing that gap, the price first needs to get back to $2, then $3, and eventually $4 and higher. That first step alone means a 77% climb, with the coin trading at $1.13 today. So, what would it take for XRP to hit $2 again?
XRP Has Not Traded Above $2 Since January
XRP started 2026 with strong momentum, climbing to $2.41 in January. That was the high point, and it’s been downhill from there. The XRP price slipped under $2 in February and kept falling until it reached $1.11.
The coin then spent the whole first and second quarter trying to recover. XRP climbed back to the $1.50 level four times between February and May, but the bears turned back every rally attempt. By late June, the XRP price had sunk to around $1.03, and the token has now lost about half its value within six months.
All of this happened while the news around XRP was mostly good, which is the strange part. XRP spent early 2026 riding the momentum of its big 2025 wins that holders had waited years for.—the SEC settlement and the launch of spot ETFs. But when that excitement wore off and the wider crypto market cooled, XRP handed those gains back.
So the $2 price target isn’t some far-off number that’s difficult for XRP to chase. It’s a level the token held at the start of the year and has been trying to climb back to ever since.
What Could Push XRP Back to $2 in 2026
Most analysts already expect XRP to end 2026 above $2. Forecasts cluster between $2 and $4, and Bitwise predicts XRP would hit $4.94. Even Standard Chartered, which cut its target from $8 to $2.80 in February, expects the token to end the year well above $2. So, the $2 itarget is around the lowest price analysts anticipate XRP would reach by the end of the year.
The CLARITY Act is the key catalyst that could trigger a rally for XRP to climb above $2. The bill would write XRP’s status as a digital commodity permanently into U.S. law. Many large institutions still avoid buying XRP today, as they can’t touch an asset whose legal standing is unsettled. So, if the bill passes, those institutions would finally have the legal backing to buy.
That is why Standard Chartered estimates the bill’s passage could push XRP ETF inflows to $8 billion, which is over five times what the funds have attracted so far. Buying of that size could realistically power a 77% rally. So far, XRP ETFs have pulled in around $1.49 billion since launch, and money still arrives most weeks.
Moreover, July has also historically been XRP’s best month, averaging a 10.4% gain since 2013—and the token is already up about 8% this month. None of that guarantees it would hit $2, but shows it’s very possible.
The Case Against XRP Reaching $2 This Year
Three things could keep XRP under $2 this year, and the first is the CLARITY Act itself. The bill missed the White House’s July 4 deadline when the Senate left for the holiday without voting, and the disputes holding it up haven’t moved—Democrats want tighter rules on presidential crypto profits after Trump disclosed $1.4 billion in crypto income, and lawmakers are still fighting over how new tokens get classified.
Congress returns on July 13, but betting markets now put the odds of the bill passing this year below 40%. If the bill stalls into 2027, the institutional money waiting on legal backing stays away, and the biggest factor that could trigger a rally to $2 goes with it.
The second problem is the wall of sellers waiting between XRP and $2. Millions of XRP were bought between $1.50 and $1.90 during the spring’s failed rallies, and holders who see XRP climbing back to their buying price could sell to escape at break-even. XRP already failed at $1.50 four times this year, so even with catalysts behind it, the price would have to push through that crowd before it can attempt $2.
The third is the market XRP trades in. The Fed has kept rate cuts off the table while inflation looks ready to rise, and XRP usually plunges whenever the broader market drops. So even if everything goes right for Ripple, a Bitcoin stumble or another hawkish Fed surprise would drag XRP down with it.
Will XRP Hit $2 in 2026?
XRP could hit $2 again this year if the CLARITY Act passes before the Senate’s August recess. The institutional money that follows the bill could make $2 look conservative, since most analysts already expect the token to end the year above that level. Should the bill stall into 2027, then XRP would likely spend the rest of the year stuck between $1 and $1.50, held back by the same wall of sellers at key levels.
That answer matches the scenarios we got when we asked Claude Fable 5 to predict the XRP price for the end of 2026. The AI model’s conservative forecast sees XRP trading between $1.50 and $1.90, with the move above $2 reserved for the outcome where the CLARITY Act passes and the Fed cuts rates twice.
So it all depends on the broader market sentiment turning bullish and the crypto market structure bill passing.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks