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XRP could surge to $12.5 and overtake Ethereum as the second-largest crypto asset by market cap before Trump’s second term wraps up, according to a new report by Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research.

With XRP now trading at $1.9 according to CoinGecko data, reaching $12.5 would represent a surge of over 550%.

“By the end of 2028, we see XRP’s market cap overtaking Ethereum’s,” Kendrick noted.

XRP’s market cap is over $110 billion per CoinGecko, positioning it as the fourth-largest crypto asset. This places it behind Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether. Currently, Ether’s market cap sits at around $183 billion.

XRP’s market cap previously peaked at $190 billion in January, and it has also, at times, surpassed Tether to claim the third-ranking spot.

Kendrick’s forecast is based on several factors, including expected regulatory developments and institutional adoption. According to the analyst, a key positive catalyst for XRP’s price growth is the recent resolution between Ripple and the SEC.

Last month, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the securities regulator had dropped its lawsuit against the blockchain company. Ripple has agreed to pay $50 million as part of the settlement, which does not require the firm to admit to any wrongdoing.

The SEC’s decision reflects a shift in regulatory approach under the current administration. Prior to Ripple, the agency had already withdrawn from several high-profile crypto enforcement cases.

XRP ETFs could attract up to $8 billion in first 12 months if approved

Kendrick also forecasts SEC approval for spot XRP ETFs in the third quarter of 2025, which he estimates could attract $4-8 billion in inflows within the first year. This projection falls in line with JPMorgan’s estimate.

The bank, in its January analysis, also anticipated first-year inflows for potential XRP spot ETFs to be in the range of $4 billion to $8 billion. JPMorgan’s forecast was based on the market penetration rates observed with existing Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Ripple’s CEO previously predicted XRP ETFs would make their market debut in the second half of 2025.

Regarding XRP’s use case in payments, Kendrick believes its cross-border payment functionality aligns with growing digital asset usage trends, similar to stablecoins, which he notes have seen 50% annual transaction volume growth and are projected to increase tenfold over four years.

Kendrick believes the XRP Ledger (XRPL), XRP’s foundational blockchain, functions as a “payments chain” with a strong trajectory to become a “tokenization chain.”

In support of this view, the analyst compares XRPL to Stellar, a blockchain with comparable architecture that has achieved success in tokenization. Franklin Templeton initially launched its OnChain US Government Money Fund on Stellar.

Kendrick projects XRP to reach $5.5 by year-end, rising to $8 in 2026, and hitting $12.5 in 2028. These projections are based on the assumption that Bitcoin will reach $500,000 within the same timeframe.

Even though the analyst is bullish on XRP, he does not ignore existing challenges the project faces, including a smaller developer ecosystem than its competitors and a low fee model.

Still, he believes that the positive drivers he has outlined could overpower these barriers.

The analyst continues to see strong potential in Bitcoin and Avalanche, but he’s less enthusiastic about Ether, labeling it an “identified loser.”

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Bitcoin dropped below $77,000 today after US President Donald Trump announced a 104% tariff on Chinese imports, escalating trade tensions that have unsettled global markets since April 2.

The tariff announcement sparked volatility across risk assets, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq experiencing sharp intraday gains of around 4% before retreating to erase most of their daily gains.

Bitcoin followed a similar pattern, briefly surging above $80,000 before falling below $77,000.

Ahead of the tariff rollout, President Trump engaged in talks with allies like South Korea and Japan, sparking brief market optimism.

The White House said nearly 70 countries had reached out seeking trade agreements, and Trump described the talks as a “beautiful and efficient” process.

Despite these negotiations, he confirmed that the 104% tariffs on Chinese imports would proceed, set to take effect at 12:00 AM on April 9.

China commented on Monday in response to Trump’s earlier tariff threat, vowing to “fight to the end” and rejecting what it called “US blackmail,” signaling little chance of compromise.

The economic fallout has prompted renewed concerns about a slowdown. Goldman Sachs recently raised its forecast for a US recession to 45%, citing tightening financial conditions and growing trade uncertainty.

In parallel, JPMorgan now expects the Federal Reserve to begin a series of rate cuts starting in June 2025, with one cut at each meeting and an additional reduction in January, bringing the upper bound of the benchmark policy rate to 3%.

Adding to the cautious tone, a Bloomberg report cited David Rolley, portfolio manager and co-head of global fixed income at Loomis Sayles, who called the tariffs “the only tax they can hike” during a recent financial event.

His colleague Pramila Agrawal estimated a 60% chance of a US recession, while Andrea Dicenso, a multi-asset and EM debt strategist at Loomis Sayles, said investors are shifting to European and Latin American markets, which she sees as more stable than the US.

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Teucrium Investment Advisors is set to launch the first-ever leveraged exchange-traded fund linked to XRP, the fourth-largest crypto asset by market cap, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The fund, called the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, will trade on NYSE Arca under the ticker XXRP. The exchange has certified its approval of the listing and registration of the fund.

The ETF aims to offer investors a leveraged way to bet on the daily price movements of XRP. The fund seeks to deliver returns that are double the daily return of XRP through the use of swap agreements.

The XXRP ETF will charge a management fee of 1.89%, according to its prospectus.

To determine the price of XRP for the swap agreements, the fund will reference several benchmarks, including the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, the CME CF XRP-Dollar Real Time Index, and spot XRP ETFs.

However, since there are no US-listed spot XRP ETFs suitable for the fund’s investment or as a reference asset, the XXRP ETF will initially base its XRP swaps on several XRP ETPs listed on European exchanges. These include 21Shares XRP ETP, Bitwise Physical XRP ETP, Virtune XRP ETP, WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP, and CoinShares Physical XRP ETP.

Teucrium Investment Advisors, currently managing $311 million in assets, specializes in providing ETFs focused on alternative investments, such as agricultural commodities and other niche markets.

Prior to the XXRP fund, Teucrium had already launched a Bitcoin futures ETF, called the Teucrium Bitcoin Futures Fund. The product launched in April 2022 after being approved by the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933.

According to its prospectus, Teucrium is also seeking to launch a short version of the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, dubbed the Teucrium 2x Short Daily XRP ETF. The leveraged inverse ETF would allow investors to potentially profit from daily declines in the price of XRP.

According to Sal Gilbertie, founder and CEO of Teucrium ETFs, the decision to launch the leveraged XRP ETF at this time was influenced by attractive low prices.

He also noted that there was considerable investor demand for XRP, which he expects would be heightened by the fund’s leverage.

XRP was trading at $1.9 at press time, up 1% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

The launch comes as the years-long legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, approaches the final line, as confirmed by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse last month.

Garlinghouse, speaking in a recent interview with Bloomberg, said that he anticipates the launch of multiple XRP ETFs in the US during the second half of 2025.

The favorable settlement with the SEC immediately boosted market optimism, pushing the odds of XRP ETF approval to 86% and increasing XRP’s value by 14%.

In the US, several asset managers—including Bitwise, Canary Capital, 21Shares, WisdomTree, CoinShares, Grayscale, and Franklin Templeton—have already submitted filings to the SEC for their own XRP ETFs.

ProShares and Volatility Shares are also seeking a regulatory nod for XRP-linked investment products.

According to Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, the outcome of the suit could prompt major players like BlackRock and Fidelity to consider joining the XRP ETF race.

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The Federal Reserve may need to implement an emergency rate cut before its scheduled May meeting due to severe market stress, said Bob Michele, Global Head of Fixed Income at JPMorgan Asset Management, in a recent interview with Bloomberg Surveillance.

The US stock market is entering its third trading session after losing over $5 trillion just two days after President Trump unveiled an aggressive tariff policy.

Michele said the market chaos last week was exceptionally severe, comparable to historical crises—the 1987 stock market crash, the 2008 financial crisis, and the 2020 COVID-19 market downturn.

In previous crises, the Fed acted quickly with a decision to cut rates. Michele suggested current market conditions may require similar intervention, meaning the Fed may not be able to wait until May to cut rates.

“I don’t know if they can even make it to the May meeting before they start bringing rates down.”

Ever since Trump kicked off his second term and threatened tariffs on imports from US key partners like Canada, Mexico, and China, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has repeatedly stated that the central bank is not in a hurry to adjust its policy.

In a statement last Friday, Powell reiterated the Fed’s cautious stance toward rate adjustments.

He stressed that Trump’s new tariffs are likely to cause higher inflation and slower economic growth in the US. The Fed is committed to anchoring inflation at a rate of 2%.

Commenting on the Fed’s current stance of waiting for clear signs of economic stress before acting, Michele expressed doubt that the central bank could wait until its upcoming meeting, scheduled for May 7, to begin lowering rates.

“They talked about the long, invariable lags. So now they’re saying they’re going to wait for the accident before they respond, and then wait for the long, invariable lags to take hold,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

The analyst is critical of the idea that the Fed would wait for the damage and then wait for its policy to take effect.

Addressing arguments that there isn’t evidence of a systemic breakdown yet, Michele said the recent market drops signal deeper economic problems, especially with lower-rated businesses.

“I think if you step back and look at the totality of what’s going on, you cannot believe that there’s nothing under the surface that’s going to break,” Michele added.

Michele also noted that vulnerable companies that have already been struggling with debt now face a package of higher borrowing costs, lower sales, and higher expenses. These underlying issues are likely to worsen and cause a huge collapse if the Fed doesn’t take action.

“This is a serious moment. I do not think the Fed can just sit on the side,” Michele said.

The CME FedWatch Tool shows only a 34% chance that the Fed will lower rates at its May meeting.

While this figure has fluctuated, the majority of market participants still view a June rate cut as more likely, with odds of around 98% as of the latest data.

Traders are also pricing that the Fed will adjust rates at the November and December 2025 meetings.

Trump has persistently urged the Fed to cut interest rates. In January, the president demanded lower interest rates immediately, claiming that better monetary policy was needed to support the economy.

As the Fed maintained its interest rates and forecast two cuts for the year, Trump encouraged the central bank to reduce rates to ease the economic transition to his tariff policies.

He continued to advocate for rate cuts ahead of Powell’s speech last week, stating it was a “perfect time” for the Fed to lower rates.

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Bitcoin hovered below the $77,000 level in early Monday trading as the broader crypto market downturn deepened. Losses extended across altcoins, with major ones like Ether, XRP, and Solana suffering double-digit losses ahead of the US stock market opening.

Bitcoin falls, altcoins bleed as Trump’s tariffs hit Asian markets

Bitcoin fell below $75,000 today, its lowest level since November, as crypto markets tumbled amid growing concerns over President Trump’s new global tariff policies impacting Asian markets, CoinGecko data shows.

The crypto market selloff intensified with major altcoins posting severe losses.

Ether dropped 17% to trade under $1,400, levels not seen in March 2023. The sharp price drop forced the liquidation of an Ethereum whale, who suffered losses surpassing $100 million.

XRP declined 16% to $1.7, with its market cap falling to $102 million and losing its position among the top three crypto assets. Solana and Dogecoin each fell 16%, while Cardano dropped 15%.

Binance Coin and TRON showed more resilience, declining 8% and 6% respectively. The total crypto market capitalization decreased by over 10% to $2.5 trillion, representing approximately $100 billion in lost value within 10 hours.

The decline coincided with sharp falls on Asian stock markets. Taiwan’s benchmark index plunged nearly 10%, its largest single-day drop since 1990.

Shares of major Taiwanese companies like TSMC and Foxconn tumbled nearly 10%, triggering automatic trading halts. In response, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) introduced temporary short-selling restrictions in an effort to stabilize the market.

The ripple effect was felt across the region. Japan’s Nikkei index plunged over 8% on April 7, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index sank roughly 12%. China’s CSI 300 Index also dropped sharply, falling 7%.

In South Korea, the Kospi shed more than 5% early in the session, prompting a five-minute circuit breaker. Singapore’s Straits Times Index wasn’t spared either, slipping nearly 8%.

Markets in Australia and New Zealand followed the downtrend. The ASX 200 in Australia dropped 6.3%, and New Zealand’s NZX 50 slid more than 3.5%.

Analyst eyes 70% Bitcoin dominance, remains wary of altcoins

Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, said Monday he’s been actively purchasing Bitcoin while maintaining a cautious stance on altcoins.

“Been nibbling on $BTC all day, and shall continue,” Hayes said, indicating an ongoing Bitcoin accumulation strategy amid market volatility.

The analyst points to cheaper altcoins but expects Bitcoin’s dominance – its share of the total crypto market cap – to increase towards 70%, implying Bitcoin’s market-leading gains.

“Shitcoins are getting in our strike zone,” he said, “but I think #bitcoin dominance keeps zooming towards 70%. So we are not gorging at the shitcoin supermarket.”

Hayes reiterated that the catalyst for Bitcoin’s growth is the central banks’ continued use of monetary stimulus in response to economic slowdowns.

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A whale saw a massive amount of their Ethereum — 67,570 units worth around $106 million — liquidated on Maker following a sharp price drop exceeding 10% on Sunday evening, which saw ETH fall from above $1,800 to around $1,500, as reported by Lookonchain.

As $ETH plummeted, the 67,570 $ETH($106M) held by this whale on #Maker was liquidated!https://t.co/kXSkKh1H0P pic.twitter.com/IDjzbQ8P3z

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 7, 2025

The crypto market has faced renewed selling pressure after showing resilience on Friday amid US stock market declines. Bearish sentiment fueled by President Trump’s aggressive tariffs sent Bitcoin tumbling below $78,000, according to CoinGecko.

The crypto market decline extended beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, with the total crypto market cap dropping approximately 8% to $2.6 trillion.

In the last 24 hours, XRP declined 10% to below $1.9, while BNB fell 5% to $562. Solana, Dogecoin, and Cardano each dropped approximately 11%. TRON showed relatively smaller losses at 2%.

As a result of the recent decline, the ETH/BTC trading pair reached 0.021 on April 6, marking its lowest level since March 2020.

In a separate report, Lookonchain revealed that another investor panic-sold 14,014 ETH, worth approximately $22 million, this evening.

As the market plummets, a whale panic-sold 14,014 $ETH($22.14M) in the past 3 hours.https://t.co/2V991wUvzq pic.twitter.com/Du0FQ89ggi

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 7, 2025

Despite the current market turbulence, some whales are viewing the dip as an opportunity to accumulate more ETH.

A whale widely known as “7 Siblings” recently acquired 24,817 for around $42 million, Lookonchain reported, boosting their total holdings to over 1.2 million ETH, which is now valued at approximately $1.9 billion.

Since February 3, this investor has spent almost $230 million to buy 103,543 ETH, currently facing a loss of $64 million on their accumulated coins.

IntoTheBlock reported earlier this week that whales accumulated 130,000 ETH on Thursday when the second-largest crypto asset plunged below $1,800 in the first trading session post-tariff announcement.

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Leading crypto firm Coinbase is seeking regulatory greenlight to offer the XRP futures contract — a move that would expand its offerings in the derivatives market.

Coinbase Derivatives announced Thursday it had submitted documentation to the CFTC to self-certify futures for XRP. The contract is expected to launch on April 21.

We’re excited to announce that Coinbase Derivatives has filed with the CFTC to self-certify $XRP futures – bringing a regulated, capital-efficient way to gain exposure to one of the most liquid digital assets.

We anticipate the contract going live on April 21, 2025.

Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/nKUPjjnMKW

— Coinbase Institutional 🛡️ (@CoinbaseInsto) April 3, 2025

The self-certification process allows Coinbase to assert regulatory compliance for futures contracts, streamlining their introduction unless the CFTC raises objections.

The move follows Coinbase’s recent launch of Solana (SOL) and Hedera (HBAR) futures contracts, part of its strategy to provide traders access to both crypto and traditional futures trading on a regulated platform.

The exchange is also awaiting CFTC approval for Cardano (ADA) and Natural Gas (NGS) futures contracts, planned for launch by month’s end.

XRP traded above $2 at press time with minimal price fluctuation in the last 24 hours, per TradingView.

The digital asset is recognized for its role in fast, low-cost cross-border payments. The proposed futures contract would enable traders to gain exposure to XRP’s price movements without holding the underlying asset.

XRP has long been the target of the SEC’s scrutiny. The regulator initiated a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, the token’s developer, in 2020, alleging XRP’s status as an unregistered security.

Four years from the start of the legal battle, last month, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the SEC’s withdrawal of its appeal against the company.

As part of the settlement, Ripple agreed to pay a reduced fine of $50 million, down from the original $125 million penalty. The blockchain firm also withdrew its cross-appeal, finalizing the resolution pending legal formalities.

Experts believe this outcome could lead to the approval of a spot XRP ETF in the US. Several fund managers have filed with the SEC for their respective XRP ETFs, including Bitwise, Canary Capital, 21Shares, WisdomTree, CoinShares, Grayscale, and Franklin Templeton.

ProShares and Volatility Shares are also seeking approval for their XRP-related investment products.

ETF Store President Nate Geraci expects that the case resolution may encourage financial giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity to explore the development of XRP ETFs.

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