Thanks to Gary Gensler announcing his resignation as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair for January 20 and Donald Trump bringing with him a historically crypto-friendly administration to power, late 2024 was an exceptional period for Ripple Labs and for XRP.
Following such developments, 2025 appears like another strong year for the company and for the separate XRP token, as the wider digital assets sector is set to enjoy an amicably disposed U.S., and the broader bull market is expected to persist.
Why XRP might rally in January
XRP, in particular, is expected to continue its rocketing as Ripple’s long-standing legal battle with the SEC might conclude near the same time as Trump’s January 20 inauguration. This event could prove a major external cryptocurrency catalyst.
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The Republican re-entering the White House could, in particular, spark a strong rally given the growing association between Ripple and its leadership and the President-Elect as, for example, CEO Brad Garlinghouse of CLO Stuart Alderoty recently had dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Furthermore, Ripple President Monica Long announced near the same time she expects the company’s stablecoin RLUSD will be on more platforms ‘imminently’ and that a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) is likely ‘next in line.’
Finally, the token will likely receive additional, internal positive developments. On January 7, Ripple announced a partnership with Chainlink, thus obtaining blockchain oracle services for the RLUSD stablecoin to bolster the security and utility of the cryptocurrency.
How high can XRP rise on January 20?
Though there are no guarantees in the cryptocurrency market – as evidenced by Bitcoin’s (BTC) exceptionally choppy trading in recent weeks despite widespread optimism – technical analysis and historical precedent offer some bullish insights into how high XRP could go around January 20, 2025.
For example, should the token react to Trump’s inauguration – and the hopes it will bring to the industry – similarly to the post-election rally, XRP could rocket 401.85% from its press time price of $2.33 and climb all the way to $11.69.
Recent technical analysis (TA) appears to back such optimism. The legendary Peter Brandt, for example, shared on January 7 that the token might be forming a ‘half-mast flag’ bullish technical pattern, which, provided it ‘rock and rolls’ quickly enough, could signal a market capitalization surge from the press time valuation of $133 billion to $500 billion.
Earlier analyses have been just as if not even more bullish with, for example, on-chain expert Ali Martinez opined already in late 2024 that, despite being an ambitious target for the token, $48 is not out of reach in 2025.
Why an XRP rally might not be in the cards
Despite the strong, bullish factors, XRP might not be headed for an imminent rally.
Indeed, while many notable analysts have described the token’s performance in recent weeks as a consolidation phase, it has been trading in a relatively wide range, and unless there is a decisive breakout above the resistance level at $2.49, it may face a drop toward its support zone near $2.12.
A prominent trader known as Dom on X even went as far as to claim that XRP might have already fallen further toward $2 had it not been for positive announcements in the last 24 hours or so, noting that the pattern of bullish tweets breaking a plunge has become so commonplace, it is now ‘incredibly amusing.’
XRP price chart
Whatever the future may bring, XRP’s performance in recent months is nothing short of remarkable. Indeed, despite struggling under the weight of the SEC lawsuit for years, the token broke out in late 2024 ensuring it is 310.92% in the green in the last 12 months.
Still, it is worth pointing out that despite the bullishness and the hoped-for external tailwinds, XRP found some stability in the range between $2 and $2.50.
Though such performance has been partially positive as it secured the November gains, it has also, at best, postponed a further rally. Indeed, despite the overall strength, the last 30 days of trading brought a slight 4.70% decline to XRP’s price today of $2.33.
Featured image via Shutterstock
