Global banking giant Standard Chartered has issued a significant downward revision to its 2026 cryptocurrency price forecasts, with XRP (XRP) experiencing the most severe cut. The bank's digital assets research team, led by Geoff Kendrick, now projects XRP to reach $2.8 by the end of 2026, a sharp 65% reduction from its previous target of $8.
The downgrade is attributed to a combination of institutional flow data and macroeconomic pressures, rather than a collapse in long-term fundamentals. According to the research note, initial enthusiasm following the approval of Spot XRP ETFs in late 2025 has faded, with persistent outflows from these funds indicating that institutional capital is not accumulating at the anticipated pace. The bank noted that expected "sticky" capital has failed to materialize in meaningful size, undermining earlier "supercycle" assumptions.
Furthermore, a strong U.S. dollar and a prolonged higher-for-longer interest rate environment continue to suppress risk appetite, placing structural pressure on non-yielding digital assets like altcoins.
XRP was not the only asset to see a revision. Standard Chartered also lowered its 2026 targets for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The Bitcoin forecast was cut from $250,000 to $180,000 (a 28% reduction), while the Ethereum target was revised down from $14,000 to $9,500 (a 32% reduction). The bank framed these adjustments as a move to a more conservative, macro-aligned framework rather than project-specific downgrades.
The research note included a warning of potential near-term downside as markets adjust to the revised outlook. Analysts specifically highlighted the $1.30–$1.40 support zone for XRP as a critical technical area to watch in the coming weeks.
In its commentary, Standard Chartered stated: “While the long-term utility of Ripple’s payments network remains intact, the velocity of institutional adoption via public ETFs has failed to meet the ‘supercycle’ expectations set earlier this year.” This suggests the bank continues to recognize the underlying value of Ripple's infrastructure but now expects adoption to unfold more gradually than previously modeled.
The revised targets reflect a recalibration of expectations based on current liquidity and macroeconomic realities, not a fundamental shift in long-term viability. The magnitude of the XRP downgrade, however, signals that institutional forecasts are becoming more grounded in observable data flows.
