Is XRP (XRP) a Buy Below $2.50?

Early in November 2024, the XRP (XRP -2.38%) cryptocurrency was trading at just $0.50 per coin. It wasn't exactly setting the world on fire, having seen plenty of volatility but no value-building gains to speak of in the previous four years. Then, the election results sparked a quick price jump. XRP shot up to $2.70 by Dec. 2. A couple of months later, rumor had it that XRP might be part of a new federal crypto reserve, and that hype pushed it up even further. The XRP chart peaked at $3.84 in mid-January, while peers like Bitcoin (BTC 0.07%) were setting all-time records.

But XRP wasn't actually included in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve or the Digital Asset Stockpile, and the coin lost momentum on the news. Furthermore, risky assets like crypto have cooled off a bit in this unstable economy. So as of April 28, 2025, XRP is sitting at $2.29 per coin. Still way up from a few months ago, and far above the modest long-term averages, but also significantly below its recent highs.

With a total market value of $134 billion, XRP is still the fourth-largest name in crypto. Is it a bargain below $2.50, or should you wait for a lower price before building an XRP position in your crypto portfolio? Let's take a look.

The bearish case

I'll start from the bearish side of the XRP debate. Many investors would argue that XRP should be out of rocket fuel by now. After a four-year bear market, several crypto exchange scandals, and the ongoing threat of a U.S. recession, it seems like any signs of a crypto bubble should be fizzling out. But not XRP. It lost most of its 2017 gains during the 2018 bear market, then recovered slowly over the next five years. And even after a superb 240% price gain in 2024, the coin is still trading 30% below its all-time high.

Chart by Investing Tips from Chart Engine

Many small-cap coins get hot for a few months, then fizzle out quickly as interest wanes and traders move on to the next hot stock or coin. But XRP has remained in the top five cryptocurrencies throughout 2024, even as several other coins rose and fell quickly. That staying power is remarkable, especially considering that XRP has faced several regulatory and legal headwinds.

Earlier in 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued several crypto firms, including Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Circle. But to the surprise of many investors, the SEC didn't include XRP in its crosshairs. Instead, the agency went after several Ethereum (ETH -0.13%) tokens that were sold illegally as securities.

Many crypto traders and analysts expected the SEC to sue Ripple next, as the payments company had already been in a long-running legal battle with the agency. But the SEC chose a different path, and that news helped to boost XRP.

However, the SEC lawsuit is just one factor to keep in mind. Another issue is that risky assets have lost some steam in 2025 as the macroeconomic outlook has become more uncertain. After the U.S. government quickly slashed interest rates by 550 basis points in 2024 to tame inflation, the Federal Reserve is now expected to keep rates elevated for a bit longer to ensure that the labor market cools down further and the threat of sticky inflation is fully neutralized.

That strategy could slow down the U.S. economy and increase the risk of a mild recession, which could hurt risky assets like crypto, high-yield stocks, and small-cap names. As a result, investors might prefer safer assets like U.S. bonds, which is bad news for XRP.

Risky assets have lost some steam in 2025 as the macroeconomic outlook has become more uncertain.

The bullish case

Those bearish arguments are real, and I completely understand if you're convinced that XRP is a poor investment today. But there's another side to this coin. XRP's bullish investors can also bring serious arguments to this debate.

After a four-year bear market, it seems like any signs of a crypto bubble should be fizzling out now, especially with several crypto exchange scandals unfolding in 2024. And after a period of rapid price gains, it wouldn't be surprising to see XRP pull back from 2024's highs. But not if you follow the pattern of previous bull markets.

After the 2000 dot-com bubble burst and the 2008 housing bubble imploded, the U.S. stock market went through periods