Hi! Eric here. 

Crypto bulls are back. 

After a rocky start to the year, market watchers say digital assets are set to return with force. Punters are pouring bullish bets into Polymarket wagers and options trades that only pay out if cryptocurrencies skyrocket. 

Ripple-linked XRP is one of the digital assets expected to capitalise on the animal spirits that were unleashed this week as headlines proclaimed that the US is inching closer to ink trade deals with several countries. 

The cryptocurrency is expected to double this year to $5.50, according to Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at UK bank Standard Chartered. He expects XRP to hit $8.00 by the end of 2026, $10.40 in 2027, and $12.25 in 2029 — 428% increase from today’s $2.32.

“XRP is uniquely positioned at the heart of one of the fastest-growing uses for digital assets — facilitation of cross-border and cross-currency payments,” he wrote in an April research note. 

Kendrick told me this week that he still expects that bullish outlook to play out.

The combination of the overall optimism of the market, and US President Donald Trump’s pro-industry policies is expected to fuel XRP’s rally. 

Moreover, Kendrick said the Securities and Exchange Commission will likely approve the launch of spot XRP exchange-traded funds before October, which Standard Chartered estimates will trigger up to $8 billion in inflows in their first year of trading. 

A Polymarket bet gives a 77% chance of a spot XRP launch in 2025.

A wager on rival prediction market Kalshi gives XRP a 55% chance of giving investors a better return this year than other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. 

This week’s bullishness in crypto and stock markets may have been driven by the expectations that Trump is on the cusp of signing new trade deals. So far those deals have failed to materialise.

In the meantime, Trump’s self-imposed 90-day tariff pause on some 90 countries runs out July 8. 

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Post of the Week

Special X Spaces today with our very own Liam J. Kelly talking about the ballooning stablecoin sector, and it’s effects on DeFi.

The overall crypto market surged by 4.8% to be worth almost $3.4 trillion. A chunk of that increase came from altcoins.

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