by Coinstrooper Crypto Articles
Quick Take
  • XRP has been through a tough stretch in 2026 so far, dropping by nearly 25% since the start of the year.
  • The XRP price dropped as low as $1.16 in early February, but has since recovered, briefly touching $1.60 in mid-March before returning to the $1.40 level.
  • When trying to determine where XRP will head next, it’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room.
  • The Iran war has had a profound effect on practically all investable asset classes.

What Happened

When trying to determine where XRP will head next, it’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room. The Iran war has had a profound effect on practically all investable asset classes.

Market Context

The XRP price dropped as low as $1.16 in early February, but has since recovered, briefly touching $1.60 in mid-March before returning to the $1.40 level.

Crypto’s Surprising Recovery has Defied Iran War Uncertainty, but XRP Has Failed to Capitalize

The real crypto standout has been Hyperliquid (+48%), which has emerged as an important platform for price discovery on weekends, when traditional markets are closed.

The platform’s 24/7 markets have proven to be very useful for traders speculating on oil prices, which have become highly volatile due to the war.

Meanwhile, XRP has remained tentative as the coin has only seen a modest 1.8% price increase in the same time period.

Since the conflict began on February 28, XRP has traded in a range between $1.32 and $1.60, spending most of its time between $1.35 and $1.45. The price action has been quite choppy, with no clear trend formation.

Cryptocurrencies are viewed as a risk-on asset class, so conventional wisdom would expect a crypto downturn in response to the war. Even though the positive performance is unexpected, we have to keep in mind that the crypto market is still responding to headlines related to the war.

For example, when US President Donald Trump made comments on Monday suggesting a de-escalation of the conflict, the price of Bitcoin shot up from $68,500 to $71,500 in a few hours.

Given the unpredictable nature of the conflict, the crypto market will likely be exceptionally difficult to navigate. This is especially true for XRP, which is not trending in either direction.

XRP Price Prediction: A Return Above $2 Later in the Year

To get an alternative perspective, let’s take a look at the algorithmic XRP price prediction by CoinCodex, which is forecasting positive price action for XRP in the next few months.

The platform expects XRP to peak at $1.68 in June, a 19% increase from its current price.

Even more intense bullish action in the XRP market is forecast for later down the line, as the algorithmic prediction on CoinCodex expects XRP to hit a local peak of $2.21 in October.

This would be a 56% increase from the current XRP price.

Now, let’s turn to recent fundamental developments connected to XRP and Ripple to see potential bullish catalysts for XRP if positive sentiment returns to the crypto market.

Why It Matters

In the short term, we can expect the largest crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP to be sensitive to headlines related to the Iran war.

While this forecast is certainly positive, it does not expect XRP to come close to its $3.92 all-time high in the next year.

Details

XRP has been through a tough stretch in 2026 so far, dropping by nearly 25% since the start of the year.

While the S&P 500 is down 4.9% in the last month, top crypto assets have surprisingly seen solid gains. Bitcoin is up 8.3%, while Ethereum has gained 14.4% in the last 30 days.

Latest XRP and Ripple news

Ripple Tests Stablecoin Trade Finance in Singapore Sandbox

Ripple is piloting a new approach to cross-border trade finance using its RLUSD stablecoin, aiming to replace slow, manual processes that have long defined the industry.

In collaboration with supply chain tech firm Unloq, the company is participating in Singapore’s central bank-backed BLOOM initiative.