‘More Downside Ahead for Crypto Market’: Standard Chartered Slashes XRP Price Target by 65%

▲ XRP Decline / ChatGPT-Generated Image ©

Standard Chartered has sharply lowered its year-end price target for XRP (Ripple) by as much as 65% in the aftermath of February’s brutal cryptocurrency market crash, issuing a stern warning of further downside across the broader digital asset market.

According to DL News on Feb. 16 (local time), the British investment bank said in a letter to investors on Thursday that it cut its end-2026 XRP target from $8 to $2.80. Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research, said recent price action in digital assets has been extremely challenging and that the bank revised down its outlook across the entire asset class in anticipation of additional short-term declines.

In recent weeks, the crypto market has endured its worst crash in about four years. Market leader Bitcoin (BTC) plunged 28% over the past month, at one point slipping to the $60,000 level. XRP also tumbled to $1.16, its lowest level in 15 months, before staging a slight rebound, but it remains down 28% on a monthly basis. It is currently trading precariously, having fallen 59% from its July peak.

This marks a painful reversal for the $90 billion XRP ecosystem, which had surged 25% in the first week of the year on strong inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and favorable regulatory developments. According to crypto data platform SoSoValue, assets under management in XRP spot ETFs, which reached a record $1.6 billion on Jan. 5, dropped 40% to around $1 billion as of Feb. 13. Standard Chartered also lowered its year-end targets for Bitcoin from $150,000 to $100,000, Ethereum (ETH) from $7,000 to $4,000, and Solana (SOL) from $250 to $135.

Despite the gloomy outlook, Kendrick said XRP is likely to move in line with Ethereum, noting that both assets stand to benefit in the medium to long term from the development of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. Market experts have identified the CLARITY Act, a comprehensive crypto market structure bill currently advancing through the U.S. Senate, as the strongest potential catalyst for a sustained XRP price recovery. Katherine Dowling, President of Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have also agreed that the bill’s passage would significantly contribute to revitalizing the depressed market.

Although the bill’s progress briefly stalled last month due to disagreements between banking and crypto industry executives, the delay appears likely to be resolved soon. On the 10th, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said he held productive meetings at the White House and strongly urged swift passage of a sensible market structure bill, emphasizing that bipartisan momentum remains intact and that the current window of opportunity should be seized to deliver a true victory for consumers and the United States.

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