Key Takeaways
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects bigger acquisitions and further industry consolidation during the crypto winter.
- Motley Fool analyst Anthony Di Pizio warns XRP could fall as low as $0.18.
- Other analysts remain bullish, with Dominic Basulto eyeing $4 in 2027 and Charusan outlining a highly speculative $324.22 scenario.
XRP is staring down a fresh bearish warning just as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse talks up the company’s prospects during the crypto winter.
The token briefly slipped below $1 on Aug. 11 and has remained under pressure, extending a steep retreat from its 2025 highs.
Motley Fool analyst Anthony Di Pizio now says XRP could theoretically fall as low as $0.18 if its current downturn resembles the collapse that followed its 2018 peak.
Brad Garlinghouse Eyes Bigger Deals During Crypto Winter
Garlinghouse struck an upbeat tone on Ripple’s business at the third annual Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.
The Ripple CEO reportedly said the company is on track for a record year, with revenue expected to more than double year over year despite the broader crypto bear market, , according to a summary of his remarks published by Ripplexity.
He identified institutional infrastructure as an area where industry momentum is increasingly concentrated.
Garlinghouse also pointed to Ripple’s aggressive expansion strategy.
The company completed roughly $2.5 billion in acquisitions last year and around $3 billion in shareholder tender offers over the past two years.
Rather than retreating as crypto prices fall, Garlinghouse reportedly expects larger acquisitions and further industry consolidation during the crypto winter.
That expansion is increasingly focused on institutional financial infrastructure.
Garlinghouse said Hidden Road cleared roughly $3 trillion in transactions last year, while GTreasury touched approximately $13 trillion.
Ripple has acquired both businesses as it expands into prime brokerage and corporate treasury services.
Combined, Garlinghouse said Ripple’s acquired platforms touch approximately $16 trillion in transactions — a scale he compared with Visa.
The opportunity, in Ripple’s view, is to bring at least some of that activity on-chain, potentially improving settlement speed, cost and certainty.
Could XRP Price Really Crash to $0.18?
Motley Fool analyst Anthony Di Pizio raised the possibility of XRP’s price fall in an Aug. 15 analysis.
Di Pizio’s argument is based partly on XRP’s history.
XRP reached $3.65 last year before subsequently losing roughly 72% of its value.
The analyst compared that decline with XRP’s previous boom-and-bust cycle.
After reaching its prior record high in 2018, XRP eventually lost roughly 95% of its peak value by mid-2020 and remained below $1 until November 2024.
“I think history could repeat,” Di Pizio wrote, arguing that XRP’s latest losses could represent “the start of a prolonged downturn.”
A comparable 95% decline from $3.65 would put XRP at roughly $0.18.
“I’m not suggesting that will happen,” the analyst added, but said XRP’s recent move below $1 was “a clear warning that investors should brace for more downside.”
His bearish case isn’t based solely on chart history.
Di Pizio also argued that changes to Ripple’s payments ecosystem could undermine the assumption that greater adoption of Ripple technology necessarily leads to greater demand for XRP.
Ripple’s Growth Doesn’t Necessarily Mean XRP Price Growth
This will likely become increasingly important as Ripple expands deeper into institutional finance.
XRP originally offered a straightforward utility proposition.
Financial institutions could use the token as a bridge asset when moving between currencies, avoiding the need for traditional correspondent banking relationships.
But XRP is no longer the only asset that can facilitate activity across Ripple’s ecosystem.
Ripple launched its dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin in late 2024.
Unlike XRP, whose market price can fluctuate sharply, RLUSD is designed to maintain a stable value relative to the U.S. dollar.
Di Pizio, therefore, argues that stablecoins could capture an increasing share of payment activity.
XRP isn’t entirely removed from that equation.
RLUSD operates on the XRP Ledger, where transaction fees are paid using XRP.
Growing activity on the ledger could therefore continue creating utility for the token.
But the amount of XRP required for individual transaction fees is extremely small, complicating the assumption that trillions of dollars flowing through Ripple-related infrastructure would produce proportionate buying pressure on XRP.
What Would XRP Have to Do to Fall to $0.18?
A fall to $0.18 would require an extreme continuation of XRP’s current downturn.
From $1, XRP would have to lose 82% to reach $0.18.
That means several major support levels would have to fail first.
The psychological $1 threshold is the immediate battleground that holders are watching.
XRP would need to establish a sustained sequence of lower highs and lower lows, along with a continual failure to reclaim former support levels.
Not All Analysts Are Bearish on XRP
However, not everyone shares Di Pizio’s gloomy outlook.
Motley Fool analyst Dominic Basulto believes 2027 could potentially become XRP’s strongest year yet.
He argued that it could climb to $4 as regulatory clarity and institutional adoption improve.
Basulto’s $4 case partly relies on XRP’s history of delivering explosive returns.
The crypto gained approximately 275% in 2021, and a similar move from slightly above $1 would put it within striking distance of $ 4.
Other analysts have gone considerably further than Basulto.
In June, crypto analyst Charusan published a model putting XRP’s eventual price at $324.22.
“The reason I always set a $300 target is because my mathematical calculations explicitly point to $324.22,” Charusan wrote.
“This price is the inevitable outcome of the liquidity velocity and institutional pool depth calculations behind the asset.”
The calculation rests on several highly aggressive assumptions.
Charusan assumes only 15 billion XRP would remain freely available once major financial institutions begin using the network.
His model then assumes $1.2 trillion in daily volume from DTCC clearing, derivatives collateral, and cross-border banking would flow through an XRP-based settlement system.
While all extreme predictions should be treated as such, the competing forecasts illustrate the divided expectations surrounding XRP.
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
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.
