Standard Chartered Predicts Chainlink at $200 and XRP at $28 by 2030. Which Will Get There First?
Standard Chartered has mapped out year-by-year price milestones for both Chainlink and XRP through 2030, and one is already running ahead of schedule while the other faces an 81% climb just to stay on track for this year.
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Standard Chartered has forecasted that Chainlink (CRYPTO:LINK) will reach $200 and XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) will hit $28 by the end of 2030. Over the past month, Chainlink has risen about 21%, while XRP has risen about 10%. As of September 26, 2026, Chainlink is priced at $14, and XRP is at $1.55.
A price target indicates the potential price an analyst believes an asset can achieve by a specific date, with annual milestones to track progress. So, which is more likely to reach its target first: Chainlink or XRP?
Standard Chartered Sets Both Targets With Yearly Milestones
Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, outlined the Chainlink target in a report on August 10, when LINK was trading around $8. According to his projections, Chainlink should reach $13 by the end of 2026, then move to $41, $82, and $133 before hitting $200 in 2030.
This growth assumes tokenized assets on blockchains will expand from about $340 billion to $4 trillion by the end of 2028.
Kendrick’s plan for XRP starts with a target of $2.80 by the end of 2026, followed by $7, about $13, and about $20, reaching $28 by 2030. He reduced XRP’s 2026 target from $8 to $2.80 in February after XRP dropped to $1.16, but the $28 goal for 2030 remained unchanged.
Chainlink Already Trades Above Its 2026 Milestone, While XRP Trails Its Own
Chainlink is currently ahead of its predicted timeline, having climbed about 72% since Kendrick’s note, and it is trading around 9% above the $13 milestone for 2026—three months ahead of schedule. In contrast, XRP is lagging behind, needing to rise about 81% by December 31 to meet the $2.80 target.
Recently, XRP rose from about $1.25 on September 16 to about $1.66 on September 23, while Chainlink rose from $11 to $14 over a similar period.
Both cryptocurrencies, however, remain below their prices from a year ago. Chainlink has decreased by roughly 34% from $21, while XRP is down about 44% from $2.78.
XRP’s $28 Target Implies a Market Value About 12 Times Larger Than Chainlink’s $200
The market value each target implies depends on the number of coins in circulation. If Chainlink hits $200, its roughly 748 million circulating LINK would be valued at around $150 billion. Conversely, XRP’s target of $28 implies its approximately 63 billion circulating coins would be worth about $1.7 trillion, nearing Bitcoin’s peak market value in October 2025.
The annual growth rates also tell a similar story. Chainlink needs about a 14-fold increase—roughly 86% each year until 2030—while XRP needs an 18-fold boost, or about 97% annually.
XRP’s Funds Draw More Money, While Chainlink’s Rally Leans on Futures
XRP has attracted greater investment from funds. U.S. spot XRP ETFs saw inflows of about $75.6 million from September 22 to 25, reflecting solid buying activity. In comparison, Chainlink’s two spot ETFs from Grayscale and Bitwise attracted over $13 million in September—a much smaller figure.
On September 24, futures trading also contributed significantly to Chainlink’s price movements, accounting for approximately five times the volume of spot trading. Notably, LINK dropped 4.4% the day after Chainlink announced its partnership with Infosys on September 22.
Which Gets There First, Chainlink or XRP?
Chainlink appears to have a stronger chance of hitting its target first. It is already trading above the bank’s 2026 milestone, while its $200 target needs a market valuation about 12 times smaller than XRP’s $28. Meanwhile, XRP has an uphill battle; it needs a substantial 81% gain just to meet its 2026 milestone.
However, Chainlink’s current momentum relies heavily on futures trading rather than fund investments, which can shift quickly. If LINK dips below $13—about 9% lower—before the end of 2026, it could fall behind schedule. Conversely, if XRP steadily climbs toward $2.80 with consistent fund inflows, its larger ETF presence could help it catch up.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
