A $1,000 investment in XRP made on January 1 would have been quite well-timed. While numerous legal experts were concerned that a protracted case could serve to diminish XRP’s appeal in lieu of other cryptocurrencies, the longstanding legal battle finally came to a close when the case was dropped on March 19, as revealed by an X post from Ripple Labs chief executive officer (CEO) Brad Garlinghouse.
This is it – the moment we’ve been waiting for. The SEC will drop its appeal – a resounding victory for Ripple, for crypto, every way you look at it.
While this was happening, XRP whales proved quite willing to make significant investments at key support levels, helping to absorb the 200 million token March unlock which could have otherwise placed downward pressure on the digital asset’s price.
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Despite the initial bullish tailwind from the conclusion of the legal battle, a swift correction ensued, in which the token lost roughly $11 billion in market capitalization in the space of 48 hours.
Even with that pullback, XRP has outperformed the wider cryptocurrency market since the start of the year. Let’s take a closer look at exactly how an investment made at the start of 2025 would have fared.
A $1,000 investment in XRP on January 1, 2025 would have netted double-digit returns
While most high-profile cryptocurrencies are in the red on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, XRP is a notable exception. At the start of the year, the price of a single token was $2.13 — by press time on March 24, prices had increased to $2.46.
Accordingly, a $1,000 investment in XRP made at the start of the year would now be worth $1,155, having accrued a $155 profit.
The optimal time to sell would have been January 16, when XRP was trading at a price of $3.38. A $1,000 investment made on January 1 and liquidated on January 16 would have netted investors a 58.68% return — or $1,586 in absolute terms.
However, this is merely a snapshot of a little under four months. For the sake of reference, a $1,000 investment made in XRP at the start of 2024, when it was changing hands at $0.61, would have netted a 454.09% return. That investment would be worth $5,540 today — a stark reminder that significant time in the market usually tends to be a prerequisite for sizable returns. XRP’s market capitalization has expanded by $107.6 billion compared to this time last year — and further growth will likewise take time.
Despite proving susceptible to market-wide headwinds in the short term, market commentators and analysts remain broadly bullish when it comes to XRP.
Renowned technical analyst Gert van Lagen has outlined a double bottom/ascending triangle chart pattern that possibly hints at a rally to levels as high as $38. Chart pattern researcher Ali Martinez pointed to a symmetric triangle pattern that could ignite a rally to $15.
At the same time, the number of XRP addresses has reached a record high of 7 million — indicating a strong level of consistent, broad appeal.
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