XRP Price Forecast: Can Ripple Become the Next Global Payment Provider?
Over the past few months, XRP was mostly discussed in relation to the lawsuit charged against Ripple Labs Inc. by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Despite the critics declaring that the end of Ripple is imminent, the XRP price has been performing well during the current crypto bull run. Does Ripple still have a chance at disrupting the global payment transfer system?
Ripple’s Legal Trouble Might End Soon
The legal trouble of Ripple Labs Inc. caused by the SEC lawsuit might not be as serious as previously thought. Recently, attorney Jeremy Hogan who represents Ripple in court revealed that the initial hearings went very well and that the SEC case will end in favor of Ripple.
According to the lawyer, the charges alleging that the XRP token is a security might be dismissed completely. Hogan claims that Judge Sarah Netburn of the Southern District Court in New York declared that she believes XRP to be a currency, and not a security. Netburn supposedly mentioned that the XRP token has currency value and utility, which means that it cannot be declared a security.
Since the entire case against Ripple is built on the allegation of unregulated security sales, declaring the XRP token a form of currency would mean that the lawsuit will be dismissed altogether. If the court decides that the legal status of XRP is not a security, Ripple’s legal trouble would be over, and the company would regain its status as one of the blockchain industry leaders.
XRP: The New Global Payment Provider?
It’s undeniable that the Ripple token is a digital asset with a clearly defined use case. The utility of XRP is simple: making global value transfers, especially cross-border payments, much more efficient and secure than possible with the pre-existing methods.
Ripple uses advanced blockchain technology in order to enable financial transactions that are much faster and cheaper than traditional payments. Ripple’s innovative technology totally outcompetes outdated, traditional solutions, such as bank wires and Western Union transfers.
When you make an old fashioned bank wire, the money is transferred through a system called SWIFT: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. SWIFT is a very old protocol, which was founded in 1973. It’s not surprising that by modern standards, SWIFT is far from being effective.
The main difference between SWIFT and the solution provided by Ripple is time. Bank wires using SWIFT usually take 24 hours to complete, and sometimes even longer. Ripple is incomparably faster: transactions are settled within seconds.
Western Union transfers are an alternative to traditional bank wires, and payments made with Western Union are much faster than SWIFT transactions. However, Ripple has a major advantage over Wester Union as well: payments made with Ripple are much cheaper.
Transaction fees of Ripple are much lower than the fees of Western Union transfers. Comparing Ripple to its competition like SWIFT and Western Union clearly proves that XRP is both faster and cheaper, so it’s very possible that in the near future banks will decide to replace the outdated SWIFT with much more efficient Ripple.
XRP Market Cap Analysis
The fact that Ripple is likely to beat the illegal security sales charges filed by the SEC drastically improves the XRP price outlook. If XRP is once and for all declared a currency and not a security, the positive impact of such fact on the Ripple price would be incredibly bullish.
One thing that makes Ripple investors very optimistic is the fact that Ripple’s legal trouble didn’t negatively affect the XRP price. Despite the SEC lawsuit, XRP has been growing in price throughout the first quarter of 2021, from $0.18 at the beginning of January, to $0.59 at the end of March.
The market capitalization analysis of XRP is even more bullish. In 2021, the market cap of Ripple has been growing organically, which points to the fact of increasing XRP adoption despite the legal issues troubling Ripple Labs Inc.
Analyzing the Ripple market capitalization shows that the XRP market initially shrinked as the news of the SEC lawsuit caused panic among investors. But after emotions settled, Ripple immediately began to regain its previous capitalization, and the legal trouble of Ripple didn’t affect the general uptrend of XRP.
Ripple Price Prediction for 2021 and Beyond
According to experts and analysts, when Ripple’s legal troubles are finally over, the XRP price may erupt. Many estimates show that when the lawsuit ends in favor of Ripple, the valuation can quickly appreciate to $0.83 or even more. It’s very likely that these predictions are a little bit undervalued, since $1.00 seems like a much more realistic short-term Ripple price forecast.
Long term XRP price predictions are even more interesting. If the SEC case is won, the minimum Ripple price level can be $6-8 in a few years. But given the strong technological fundamentals of XRP, these estimates might be far too bearish.
Some forecasts claim that Ripple will be able to reach $17-$30 in the near future. But is it the most bullish possible prediction, or is XRP good enough to appreciate in value even more?
The most optimistic predictions believe that if Ripple adoption gets widespread, the XRP price can truly skyrocket. According to these forecasts, XRP can trade for $200-$300 in the next 5+ years.
Conclusion
Many crypto sceptics believed that the SEC lawsuit will be the end of XRP. But now the tables have turned: it looks like the legal trouble of Ripple might end sooner than expected, which would cause the XRP price to rise rapidly.
It looks like the security charges might be nothing more than just a minor inconvenience in the end. The technology behind Ripple is truly revolutionary, and if XRP manages to replace outdated methods like SWIFT, the sky is the limit for Ripple.
Author: M.Phil.Eco.Patrick Riesen