A Prominent Market Pundit Urges Investors to Stop Doubting XRP

These remarks came from Armando Pantoja, an IBM blockchain award recipient and member of the Benzinga crypto advisory board, amid the persistent consolidation that has prevailed in the broader crypto market. XRP, which rallied 284% in November, is now facing an exhaustion of its bullish trend.

Notably, while most experts believe XRP could resume its upsurge soon, this range-bound phase has triggered uncertainty among investors, leading to profit-taking trades. CryptoQuant data shows that XRP Exchange Reserve on Binance has spiked from 2.79 billion tokens on Dec. 16 to the current figure of 2.93 billion.

“Stop Doubting XRP”

This increase in the Binance exchange reserve indicates a campaign among market participants to deposit their assets to Binance, the world’s largest exchange, for sales. Amid this prevailing sentiment, Pantoja has urged investors to stop doubting XRP.

> Stop doubting $XRP:
>
> XRP shocked the world in 2017, rising from $0.003 to $3.31 something critics said could “never happen”.
>
> It surged 110,000%, turning $1,000 into $1.1 million in just 1 year.
>
> Now the lawsuits soon over + Trump is coming. It’s time to shine #XRP pic.twitter.com/gXxtnG8nGJ
>
> — Armando Pantoja (@_TallGuyTycoon) December 28, 2024

For context, this pessimism surrounding XRP emerged as it underperformed during the 2021 bull run and in the early stages of the ongoing bull market. Even market veterans such as Raoul Pal insisted that XRP investors could miss out on this bull run, urging them to seek gains elsewhere.

Now, following its impressive performance on the back of the Donald Trump election victory, the pessimism has resurfaced. Some analysts have predicted lofty price targets for XRP, such as $27 and a more ambitious $33, although many have dismissed these targets as fantasies.

Possible Surge Catalysts

While some believe XRP might have exhausted its uptrend, Pantoja called attention to the altcoin’s explosive run in the 2017/2018 cycle as one reason behind his optimism. It bears mentioning that XRP traded as low as $0.003 in January 2017 before it moved along with a market surge.

Interesting to note, once XRP broke out, it outperformed the rest of the market, rallying from its $0.003 low to an all-time high of $3.31 in January 2018, marking a 110,233% increase within a year. Pantoja pointed out that with this rally, XRP transformed $1,000 into $1.1 million.

This historic run demonstrated XRP’s potential and now serves as a foundation for confidence among analysts. Additionally, he highlighted other catalysts that could trigger a similar explosive run, including the possible conclusion of the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit, as new leadership is set for January 2025.

Furthermore, Pantoja emphasized the incoming Donald Trump administration as a potential trigger for the next XRP upsurge. Trump has promised to establish a more crypto-friendly administration, with his inauguration in January 2025 expected to spark another market rally.

At press time, XRP is trading at $2.16, having gained 10.71% in December despite ongoing turbulence, making it one of the few leading assets to witness gains this month.