Ripple XRP Price Forecast - XRP-USD Steadies Near $2.29 as $1B Treasury Deal Ignites Institutional Momentum

XRP (XRP-USD) Rebounds to $2.29 as Ripple’s $1B Treasury Deal and ETF Buzz Ignite Market Revival

Ripple’s XRP (XRP-USD) is reclaiming investor attention after an eventful week that combined a sharp price resurgence with dramatic shifts in on-chain behavior. As of October 17, XRP trades near $2.29, up 2.2% in 24 hours, marking a modest but psychologically important recovery after touching lows of $2.10 earlier in the week. The rebound follows a flurry of catalysts — most notably, Ripple’s $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury, growing institutional interest in future XRP ETFs, and speculation around long-term targets as high as $8–$15 if momentum holds.

Price Action and Technical Landscape

After weeks of correction from the September peak near $3.30, XRP has stabilized within a tight $2.10–$2.35 range. The token remains below the 20-, 50-, and 100-day EMAs clustered around $2.22–$2.25, signaling a neutral-to-bearish bias in the short term. The 200-day EMA near $2.09 continues to serve as long-term support. Momentum indicators show mild exhaustion — the RSI at 41.5 is approaching oversold territory, suggesting waning selling pressure.

Resistance levels are clearly defined: $2.30 is the first barrier, followed by $2.60 and $2.80, where sellers previously defended aggressively. Support rests at $2.00, with a secondary floor near $1.85–$1.60, the zone of the October 10 capitulation. A decisive daily close above $2.60 could trigger a relief rally toward $2.80–$3.00, while a breakdown below $2.00 risks reopening the path to $1.85.

On-Chain Shifts: Burn Rate Collapse Meets Price Rebound

A striking anomaly has surfaced in XRP’s network metrics. Data from XRPScan shows that tokens burned as transaction fees plunged 71%, from 616 XRP on Oct 17 to 178 XRP on Oct 18, even as price advanced more than 5%. Typically, lower burn rates signal reduced activity or lower congestion, yet the opposite movement — a rising price amid declining burn — suggests enhanced network efficiency and shifting usage patterns.

Market observers link this to large holders consolidating off-exchange positions and to institutional adjustments on RippleNet corridors. The divergence between price and burn rate may also reflect more efficient transaction batching on the XRPL, as major payment partners automate settlement through new liquidity channels.

Derivatives and Open-Interest Contraction

Despite spot-market enthusiasm, derivatives traders remain cautious. Open interest in XRP perpetuals dropped 5.26% to $3.5 billion, indicating reduced speculative leverage even as price rebounded. Roughly 1.49 billion XRP, worth about $3.5 billion, remain locked in active contracts — a volume consistent with consolidation rather than breakout momentum.

This pullback in leveraged exposure may signal that professional traders await confirmation above the EMA cluster before re-entering bullish positions. Historically, a decline in open interest during a rebound reflects more sustainable, less frothy price action — an encouraging backdrop for long-term holders seeking stability over short squeezes.

Institutional Catalyst: Ripple’s $1 Billion GTreasury Deal

The standout fundamental driver this week is Ripple’s $1 billion purchase of GTreasury, a global leader in corporate treasury management systems serving Fortune 500 clients. The move embeds Ripple’s technology into a $120 trillion global cash-management market, positioning the XRP Ledger (XRPL) as the bridge for instantaneous settlement of tokenized deposits and stablecoin flows across corporate accounts.

CEO Brad Garlinghouse framed the acquisition as a redefinition of blockchain utility: “Payments are where crypto first proved itself, and now XRP will power real-world treasury movement.” This integration could unlock trillions in trapped liquidity, establishing XRP as the default settlement token for institutional treasurers transitioning from legacy SWIFT rails to blockchain infrastructure.

The deal’s timing is strategic. As global corporations increasingly interact with tokenized money and digital-asset portfolios, XRPL’s interoperability offers cost advantages and real-time transparency — two priorities for multinational finance departments.

ETF Prospects and Long-Term Valuation Models

Speculation continues to swirl around a potential XRP ETF approval once U.S. government operations normalize. Analysts argue that spot ETF authorization could replicate the liquidity shock seen with Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, channeling institutional inflows into XRP’s capped supply.

One chart analyst, Remi, projected an eventual E-wave rally to $1,200, referencing XRP’s 76,000% run in 2017 and estimating a 50,000% potential increase in this cycle if institutional demand accelerates. While extreme, even conservative extrapolations suggest that sustained adoption of XRPL for real-world settlement could justify multi-fold appreciation.

Pattern Formation and Near-Term Setup

From a structural perspective, XRP/USD is tracing an ascending triangle with a double-bottom base near $2.30, both bullish continuation patterns if validated by volume. The breakout threshold remains $3.40, a level repeatedly rejected since Q2. If reclaimed, measured-move projections point toward an $8 technical target, representing a 260% advance from current levels.

Short-term traders are watching the $2.70 demand zone for signs of accumulation. Momentum oscillators — the MACD histogram flattening below its signal line and RSI stabilizing near 40 — suggest a potential pivot from corrective to neutral trend. Confirmation will require sustained closes above $2.35 with rising volume.

Macro and Market Context

Ripple’s recovery unfolds against a backdrop of broader crypto volatility. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) hovers near $109,000, commanding 58% market dominance, which has limited altcoin performance. Yet XRP’s resilience in maintaining the $2.00–$2.10 support amid capital rotation into BTC underscores growing confidence in its fundamental story rather than speculative hype.

Meanwhile, trade frictions between the U.S. and China and uncertainty surrounding monetary policy continue to weigh on risk assets. XRP’s ability to attract institutional traction through real-world payments positions it differently from meme-driven or DeFi tokens lacking tangible use cases.

Technical Forecast for 2025–2026

If bulls defend $2.00–$2.10, XRP could retest $2.45–$2.60 in coming weeks. A clean break above $2.70 would validate momentum reversal toward $3.00, while a failure could extend losses toward $1.85. For 2025 year-end, conservative models project a range between $2.60 and $5.00, with potential acceleration to $7.00–$8.00 under favorable ETF and treasury-integration scenarios.

Longer-term forecasts for 2026–2027 price XRP between $3.50 and $4.50, with upper-bound targets near $10 if institutional settlement volumes expand. The Fibonacci resistance near $7.00 remains the intermediate checkpoint for the next bullish phase.

Verdict on XRP-USD: Strong Speculative Buy on Structural Utility

The confluence of improving on-chain efficiency, the $1 billion GTreasury integration, declining speculative leverage, and resilient price structure points toward a maturing phase for XRP-USD. While volatility persists, the combination of real-world utility, potential ETF inflows, and solid technical support near $2.00 provides a foundation for a renewed uptrend through 2026.

Based on current data, XRP remains undervalued relative to its enterprise potential. The immediate resistance at $2.60–$2.80 will define short-term trajectory, but structural adoption signals suggest the next major breakout could propel XRP-USD toward $5.00 in 2025 and potentially higher in subsequent cycles.

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