Key Takeaways:
XRP's path to $100 would require a $6.19 trillion market cap, but its co-creator refuses to rule it out — while capital rotates toward presale tokens with faster return profiles.
XRP traded at $1.05 as of 10:56 UTC on June 28, holding above the key $1 support level after a brutal drawdown from its July high of $3.65, according to CoinGecko data. The token has shed more than 70 percent from that peak, with resistance now stacked at $1.20 and $1.60, while support thins below $1.04.
David Schwartz, co-creator of the XRP Ledger, said on X that he does not feel comfortable calling a $100 XRP price impossible, according to Trade Brains. Schwartz sold his own XRP at $0.10 and let go of Ethereum at $4 before it hit $3,000, which he cited as the reason he stopped ruling out extreme outcomes. At $100, XRP would need a market value near $6.19 trillion on 61.86 billion tokens — larger than Apple and Nvidia combined — and most forecasts top out between $5 and $15.
Spot XRP ETFs have drawn $1.43 billion in inflows since November 2025, according to CoinDesk, yet the price has barely budged. ChatGPT's AI model forecasts a base case of $3.50 to $5.00 by year-end 2026, with a best case of $6.50, contingent on sustained regulatory clarity, institutional flows materializing, and Ripple's network growth translating into actual token demand. The model flags a key risk: Ripple's enterprise success may benefit its payment network and RLUSD stablecoin more directly than XRP the token.
Why capital is rotating into presale tokens
The contrast between XRP's $64 billion market cap and its muted price action has pushed whale wallets toward earlier-stage opportunities. Pepeto, a meme coin project building a zero-fee exchange and cross-chain bridge, has raised $10.336 million in its presale, placing it among the fastest-filling token sales this cycle. The project is led by a senior Binance developer and has passed a SolidProof audit, with staking currently paying 169 percent APY before the exchange listing.
The structural difference matters: every trade and transfer on Pepeto's platform runs through the token, creating utility-driven demand that compounds with meme coin virality. XRP, by contrast, moves value through Ripple's network without requiring holders to own the token — a design feature that Schwartz himself has acknowledged limits direct price participation from network growth.
The math behind $100 XRP
For XRP to reach $100, the token would need to add roughly $5.5 trillion in market value — more than the entire crypto market cap excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum. Even the most bullish AI forecasts see $6.50 as the ceiling for 2026, and the technical setup offers little support for a near-term breakout. XRP needs to reclaim $1.60 and hold it before any recovery thesis gains credibility, according to the ChatGPT model's analysis.
The broader market is in a consolidation phase, with Bitcoin and Ethereum both testing resistance without clean breakouts. XRP is not uniquely stuck — it is stuck alongside the market. A real market-wide move higher could lift XRP, but the token likely cannot run far on its own without one.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
