As XRP trades near $2.00 after a significant correction, analysts and investors are actively debating its future price trajectory and adoption challenges. This reassessment comes amid institutional price predictions and persistent skepticism from prominent industry figures.

Asset manager 21Shares recently provided a detailed 2026 outlook, projecting a 30% chance for XRP to reach $2.69 in a bullish scenario. However, influential analyst Justin Bons argues that “XRP is centralized in every way,” citing governance and validator issues. Meanwhile, spot XRP ETFs have attracted nearly $1.3 billion in inflows since their November 2025 launch.

Prominent Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter has repeatedly dismissed XRP’s legitimacy, stating it functions like a token on a company-controlled database. Consequently, he argues “It’s not a crypto, can’t be compared to Bitcoin, and has no use case.” This centralization debate continues to fuel investor uncertainty.

Ryan Selkis, founder of Messari, has criticized XRP as an outdated, pre-stablecoin asset with little practical use today. Consequently, the XRP vs stablecoins battle intensifies as regulated options like USDC gain institutional traction. Many payment providers may prefer these stable alternatives over XRP’s volatility.

The recent price decline is attributed to profit-taking and technical resistance around $2.35. Consequently, 21Shares outlines additional scenarios, including a 50% probability base case of $2.45 and a bear case of $1.60. Ultimately, XRP’s long-term outlook hinges on securing meaningful payment infrastructure adoption beyond speculation.

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