Key Takeaways
- XRP whale wallets now control their largest share of the token’s supply since 2018.
- Asset manager Bitwise projected a potential XRP price near $30 by 2030.
- Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and David Schwartz have recently delivered more cautious public remarks.
Predictions that XRP could climb to nearly $30 by the end of the decade are once again gaining traction across the crypto industry, following an aggressive long-term outlook for the token outlined by asset manager Bitwise last month.
The forecast mapped several possible price trajectories through 2030, ranging from deeply bearish to highly optimistic.
Whale Accumulation Accelerates
The debate over its long-term potential comes as on-chain analytics firm Santiment reported that major holders are now controlling their largest share of the token’s supply in more than six years.
According to Santiment Intelligence, wallets holding at least 10 million XRP collectively now own 45.83 billion XRP, valued at roughly $68.5 billion at current market prices.
That cohort controls around 68.5% of the token’s circulating supply, marking the highest concentration level recorded since May 2018.
The accumulation trend has emerged as XRP continues pushing toward the psychologically important $1.50 level, fueling speculation that large investors may be positioning for a broader breakout.
Bitwise’s $29 XRP Price Scenario
The renewed whale activity has also revived discussion around Bitwise’s ambitious long-term XRP forecast released earlier this year.
In April, the asset manager published an extensive report examining XRP’s possible trajectory through 2030 across multiple scenarios, ranging from deeply bearish to aggressive growth.
Under Bitwise’s most optimistic case, XRP could rise above $6 by 2026 before climbing steadily throughout the decade and eventually nearing $30 by 2030.
The firm’s more moderate outlook was far less aggressive, projecting XRP below $13 by the end of the decade under steadier adoption conditions.
Meanwhile, Bitwise’s bearish scenario suggested XRP could collapse sharply if Ripple fails to secure meaningful traction across payments and tokenization markets.
With debate intensifying, CCN asked ChatGPT and Grok whether XRP genuinely has a path to the most bullish scenario from Bitwise.
ChatGPT’s XRP Price Take
When asked about the probability of XRP reaching $29 within the next five years, ChatGPT said the target is possible but highly dependent on adoption and regulation.
“XRP reaching $29 would likely require a combination of broad institutional usage, favorable regulatory developments, and sustained crypto market expansion,” it said.
Adding: “The scenario is not impossible, but it assumes Ripple captures a much larger role in global financial infrastructure than it currently holds.”
The chatbot added that speculative enthusiasm alone would not be enough to sustain such a move.
“Price forecasts at that level depend heavily on real-world utility translating into consistent demand,” ChatGPT noted.
“Without meaningful transaction growth and deeper market integration, those projections become difficult to justify.”
Grok’s Reaction
Elon Musk’s AI assistant Grok responded more skeptically to Bitwise’s projection.
“XRP hitting $29 sounds exciting, but crypto firms love publishing moonshot numbers because massive predictions attract attention,” it said.
Adding: “Forecasting a near-20x rally like it’s a scheduled event ignores how unpredictable this market actually is.”
Grok also questioned whether XRP can dominate the sectors’ supporters expect it to.
“Payments, tokenization, banking rails — every crypto project claims it’s about to revolutionize finance,” it added.
“XRP still has to prove it can win meaningful market share instead of just surviving on speculation cycles.”
However, the chatbot acknowledged that crypto markets have defied expectations in the past.
“If regulation turns favorable and another major bull cycle erupts, XRP could outperform what most people expect,” Grok said.
“But treating $29 as a likely destination instead of a best-case scenario is where the argument starts falling apart.”
Ripple Executives Send Mixed Signals
The uncertainty surrounding XRP’s long-term outlook has also been amplified by recent remarks from some of Ripple’s most prominent figures.
Speaking at Consensus 2026 in Miami, Ripple Chief Executive Brad Garlinghouse said he had “never been an XRP maxi.”
Garlinghouse stressed that the future of crypto would not revolve around a single blockchain network.
“It’s not going to be a one-chain world. It’s going to be a multi-chain world,” he said during an interview at the event.
The comments reflected Ripple’s increasingly institutional and pragmatic positioning as the digital-asset sector matures beyond earlier tribal rivalries.
However, the timing proved sensitive for parts of the XRP community, many of whom have spent years championing XRP as the leading crypto.
Schwartz Sparks More Anxiety
Concerns deepened further after Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz revealed he had substantially reduced his personal crypto exposure.
In a series of posts on X, Schwartz said he had moved most of his assets out of crypto holdings, except for Ripple equity.
“I don’t have that much left anymore,” he wrote, adding that he generally disliked financial risk despite benefiting from earlier crypto investments.
The disclosure triggered backlash from some XRP holders, who viewed the comments as discouraging given Schwartz’s long-standing association with the XRP Ledger.
Others defended the executive’s transparency, arguing that personal portfolio decisions should not automatically be interpreted as a judgment on XRP’s long-term prospects.
Schwartz later attempted to clarify that his financial caution did not reflect a loss of belief in the network itself.
“I want XRP and XRPL to be successful because I feel like they’re a reflection of me,” he wrote.
Pushback Against Extreme XRP Price Targets
The latest debate also revived attention around Schwartz’s earlier criticism of aggressive XRP price predictions.
In recent months, the Ripple executive has repeatedly questioned ultra-bullish forecasts suggesting XRP could eventually trade at hundreds or even thousands of dollars per token.
Earlier this month, Schwartz argued that if sophisticated investors genuinely believed XRP had a realistic chance of reaching extreme valuations within the next decade, market pricing would already reflect those expectations.
“If there were a few very rich, very rational people who really believed that there was a 1% chance that XRP could hit $10,000 in 10 years, they’d bid XRP up to at least $20 today,” he wrote on X.
Schwartz previously made similar remarks in January while responding to projections that XRP could eventually reach between $50 and $100.
He said crypto markets remained heavily influenced by unpredictable developments and warned against treating speculative targets as inevitable outcomes.
At the same time, Schwartz acknowledged that digital assets have historically produced rallies that many investors once considered impossible.
“I remember when Bitcoin hitting $100 seemed like an impossible dream,” he wrote.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
