XRP To Flip Ethereum: Standard Chartered Predicts Meteoric Surge By 2028

Standard Chartered Research has unveiled a bold forecast that places XRP above Ethereum in market cap within the next five years, underscoring what it describes as a multi-year price rally for the token. The projections, shared by Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, map out annual target levels for XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum through 2029. They also indicate a set of key ratios that measure the relative strength of XRP compared to its more established peers.

In 2025, XRP is expected to reach $5.50, while Bitcoin is forecasted to soar to $200,000 and Ethereum to $4,000. This sets a BTC-XRP ratio—essentially the number of tokens equivalent in value to one Bitcoin—at roughly 39,500. Ethereum would be valued at about 727 times the price of XRP in the same year.

Moving into 2026, XRP’s target jumps to $8.00, an almost 45% increase, while Bitcoin is projected to climb to $300,000 and Ethereum to $5,000. The BTC-XRP and ETH-XRP ratios slightly rise and fall respectively, suggesting that while Bitcoin continues to outpace XRP in relative terms, XRP is gaining ground on Ethereum.

By 2027, XRP is expected to trade at $10.40, Bitcoin at $400,000, and Ethereum at $6,000. While XRP’s price nearly doubles from its 2025 level, the BTC-XRP and ETH-XRP ratios (42,000 and 577 respectively) confirm a tightening of the gap, particularly versus Ethereum, where XRP shows stronger relative performance.

In 2028, XRP hits its peak in this forecast at $12.50. Bitcoin reaches $500,000 and Ethereum continues its linear ascent to $7,500. Despite the increase, XRP still lags behind in proportional gains to Bitcoin, with the BTC-XRP ratio ticking up to 43,000. However, the ETH-XRP ratio moves slightly higher to 600, signaling that Ethereum begins to regain a bit of ground against XRP.

Interestingly, by 2029, Kendrick is projecting a slight decline for XRP to $12.25. Meanwhile, the Standard Chartered analyst predicts Bitcoin to remain flat at $500,000, while Ethereum holds steady at $7,500. Notably, the ETH-XRP ratio increases slightly to 612, and BTC-XRP to 44,500, reflecting a modest erosion of XRP’s relative strength in the final stretch.

Still, compared to 2025, XRP ends the forecast period stronger in relative terms against Ethereum, as shown by the ETH-XRP ratio dropping from 727 to 612.

Kendrick’s prediction of XRP overtaking Ethereum in total market cap represents one of the report’s most attention-grabbing assertions. “By the end of 2028 we see XRP’s market cap overtaking Ethereum’s,” he said in a message to The Block.

Kendrick attributes this upward trajectory to a confluence of factors, including regulatory developments, growing institutional adoption, and expanding tokenization use cases. He specifically cites Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s announcement that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its appeal in the long-running case.

According to Kendrick, this outcome was anticipated in the aftermath of a crypto-friendly stance from Donald Trump’s administration, which he says paved the way for a more favorable regulatory environment. He also expects the SEC to approve an XRP spot ETF by Q3 2025, with possible inflows of up to $8 billion in the first year of listing.

Kendrick argues that the token’s fundamental utility in cross-border and cross-currency payments aligns with one of the most rapidly growing use cases in the digital asset space. He observes that stablecoin transaction volumes have surged by roughly 50% each year and, if that growth is mirrored by XRP, the token’s price could climb steadily over the coming years.

In parallel, Ripple is moving deeper into tokenization efforts, including the development of tokenized US Treasury bill funds and its own USD-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, which Kendrick believes could bolster XRP’s position further. “XRP’s blockchain, the XRP Ledger, is a payments chain and may become a tokenisation chain,” he said.

Despite these promising signs, Kendrick acknowledges that the developer ecosystem remains relatively small compared to those of Ethereum and other major blockchains, which could present a challenge to widespread adoption. Moreover, the token’s low-fee structure, while an attractive feature for payments, might limit its ability to capture additional value from network usage.

Notably, Kendrick recently also released an optimistic note about Avalanche’s native token AVAX, projecting it could surge to $250 by 2029. His outlook on Ethereum, however, is less enthusiastic; he recently slashed his 2025 Ether price target by 60% to $4,000 and described ether as an “identified loser,” while championing Bitcoin and AVAX as “identified winners.”

At press time, XRP traded at $1.807.