Key Insights
- Standard Chartered XRP Outlook projects a rise to $8 by 2026, based on ETF inflows.
- XRP ETFs drew over $1.15 billion, despite outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum funds.
- XRP Ledger usage and Ripple expansion support institutional interest without price reaction.
XRP Draws $1.2B in ETF Assets as Standard Chartered Flags 330% Upside
XRP has regained focus among institutional analysts after Standard Chartered published a forward-looking price projection that places the digital asset among the most closely watched tokens heading into 2026.
According to research commentary attributed to the bank’s digital assets team, XRP could rise to $8 by 2026, implying a potential increase of roughly 330% from a reference price of $1.86 cited in the analysis.
The projection places Standard Chartered among a growing group of traditional financial institutions that produce formal research tied to the XRP market structure, exchange-traded products, and infrastructure usage, rather than focusing on short-term price momentum.
Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered stated that the bank’s outlook does not reference speculative trading behavior; instead, it focuses on measurable developments within the XRP ecosystem, particularly institutional access through regulated investment vehicles and activity on the XRP Ledger.
Institutional Estimates and Market Access
The Standard Chartered XRP outlook indicates how regulated investment products have changed the way institutions gain exposure to the asset. In mid-November, multiple spot XRP exchange-traded funds began trading in the United States.
Moreover, products from Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Canary Capital, and other asset managers entered the market during the same period, expanding options for regulated access to these investments.
According to data compiled by SoSoValue, these XRP ETFs had attracted approximately $1.15 billion in cumulative inflows by December 29.
Separate disclosures from issuers and tracking services indicate that total assets under management across the group range between $1.2 billion and $1.25 billion. These figures place XRP-focused products among the more actively subscribed digital asset ETFs in recent weeks.
ETF Activity vs. Wider Market Trends.
The Standard Chartered XRP prognosis is also aligned with the number of divergences between XRP-linked products and other significant crypto ETFs. At times when Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs registered net outflows during the general market contraction, XRP ETFs reported net inflows.
This deviation represents variations in allocation strategies, rather than the general direction of the market.
Players in the market have observed that inflows in ETFs do not necessarily cause instantaneous movement in the spot price.
According to analysts, a significant portion of ETF purchases and sales is conducted over-the-counter. Such transactions gradually absorb supply and may not necessarily have a direct impact on the exchange books in the short term.
Moreover, at the time of reporting, XRP remained approximately 10.9% lower on the day and roughly 48% below its mid-2025 high of around $3.50.
Network Utility and Payments Infrastructure
Beyond ETFs, the Standard Chartered XRP outlook references the asset’s role within the XRP Ledger. XRP is the native token of XRPL, a fast transaction processing blockchain with comparatively low transaction costs.
The comparative data tend to emphasize that XRPL settlement times and transaction costs are lower than those related to conventional cross-border messaging systems, such as SWIFT.
Ripple’s management has linked the use of XRPL to the volume of payments in the long run. The chief executive of the company, Brad Garlinghouse, has indicated that the XRPL has the potential to account for up to 14 percent of the total value transacted by SWIFT in five years.
Although this number is not a proven result, but rather a future prognosis, it has been used in debates on the use of XRP as an intermediary currency in cross-border payments.
Diverging Analyst Views
Not everyone shares the Standard Chartered XRP forecast in the market. According to veteran trader Peter Brandt, the technical analysis has been negative. Brandt has just mentioned a double-top pattern on weekly price charts, which is typically associated with trend reversals.
According to this structure, he proposed that the XRP may decline to below the $1 mark.
These opposing evaluations demonstrate how various analysis models, such as basic infrastructure analysis and technical chart patterns, can yield different conclusions regarding the same asset.
Corporate Expansion Strategy of Ripple
The future of Standard Chartered XRP has also been mentioned, as well as Ripple’s overall corporate presence in 2025.
The company stated that it would purchase prime brokerage company Hidden Road and treasury management company GTreasury. These moves expand Ripple’s reach beyond payments into custody, clearing, and corporate finance software.
