Famous legal expert Bill Morgan has highlighted how Ripple was unable to promote XRP over the past few years due to its former legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Why Ripple Was Unable To Promote XRP In The Past

In an X post, Bill Morgan stated that Ripple could not promote XRP or the XRP Ledger in the past for fear of being sued by the SEC for promoting and offering an unregistered security. He noted that despite that, the company was still sued by the regulator. The lawyer’s response followed XRPL stakeholder Wietse’s comments about how the XRPL has a track record of regularly being too early and also being too late. 

Wietse made this comment after XRP community member Crypto Eri pointed out that the XRP Ledger has supported tokenized gold since, though it hasn’t received enough publicity. Wietse added that the network is too early for people to notice and realize how great certain things are, and too late for others, causing too little, too late catch-up. 

However, Bill Morgan believes that XRP and XRP Ledger would have gotten more publicity if Ripple had been able to actively promote the altcoin in the past. He noted that during the SEC lawsuit, the crypto firm barely mentioned XRP. Meanwhile, the lawyer noted that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptos were promoted with impunity and that former SEC official Bill Hinman effectively promoted ETH while in office.  

The lawyer added that, to this day, Ripple’s promotion of XRP and the XRP Ledger remains muted. He stated that the company does it by stealth under the cover of acquisitions and RLUSD. Morgan believes that this is nothing compared to how Michael Saylor actively talks about and promotes Bitcoin. 

XRP Is Still At The Centre Of Ripple’s Vision

Ripple has, in recent times, reiterated that XRP is at the centre of its vision. In his New Year’s message, the firm’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, stated that the altcoin has been and will continue to be the heartbeat of that vision. This came as he noted that their two major acquisitions last year, Ripple Prime and GTreasury, will greatly accelerate and expand their ability to deliver on their vision, which is to enable the Internet of Value. 

He added that building and using crypto infrastructure, updating their global financial plumbing, and rethinking legacy systems don’t happen overnight. As such, they will continue to take the long view of what crypto-based assets such as XRP and RLUSD can do rather than chasing cycles and hype. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $2.16, up over 5% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

XRP is trading at around $2.06 on January 13, 2026, leaving its price action a full step below the zone that capped its last rally that ended with a high of $3.65 in July 2025. 

However, predictions that point to XRP reclaiming that peak and then pushing into new highs above $3.8, have been on the front page of bank research notes and trader-led chart projections. Notably, various technical analyses have suggested that XRP is programmed to return back into the upper-$3s and into new price territories this year.

Standard Chartered’s XRP Target Clears $3.8

XRP’s all-time high price now looks out of reach, especially considering the cryptocurrency is now struggling to leave $2 behind. At the time of writing, XRP has dropped by about 44% from its July 2025 peak of $3.65, but institutional buys from Spot XRP ETFs are still giving glimmers of hope.

One of the most recently notable institutional-style projections from XRP comes from Standard Chartered’s digital assets research, which lays out a multi-year path that sees XRP breaking well above the $3.8 threshold. 

According to analysts at the bank, XRP is slated to reach as high as $8 by the end of 2026, a level that comfortably eclipses the previous peak and implies roughly 300% upside from current levels if certain conditions hold. 

Interestingly, this outlook came from Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research. The prediction was made based on an outlook of continued institutional adoption and strong inflows into XRP-based spot ETFs.

Technical Outlooks As Ripple Heads Into A Consequential 2026

Recent technical commentary from multiple analysts has converged on a bullish bias for XRP. For instance, XRP analyst EGRAG CRYPTO pointed out a developing breakout retest structure on the monthly candlestick timeframe. According to the analyst, historical probabilities favor upside as long as XRP holds above the $1.60 to $1.40 range on higher timeframes, with long-term channel projections placing the XRP price as high as $22.

For a shorter-term perspective, Crypto Feras described XRP’s recent break above $2 as a bullish reversal signal. His analysis points to $2.67 and $3.01 as the next resistance levels, areas that could open the path toward a full retest of the prior peak near $3.8 if cleared. Adding to this, ChartNerd noted that XRP’s long-term upside fractal structure is still valid despite the recent XRP price correction. 

Related Reading: Analyst Updates XRP Price Prediction: Why $16 Is Still On The Table

These price projections are being viewed more favorably against the backdrop of Ripple’s momentum heading into the year. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently pointed to strong progress in 2025 with examples of major acquisitions of Ripple Prime and GTreasury and a growing global licensing footprint. 

Now that Ripple is positioning itself for what its leadership has described as a consequential 2026, the combination of technical outlooks and company fundamentals has strengthened the narrative that XRP could be approaching a move to new all-time highs.