XRP’s Post-Election Rollercoaster: Boom, Bust, or Bargain?

XRP went on a wild ride after the 2024 U.S. election, soaring 255% in just two months, only to plunge 34% from its January peak. At $2.18 per coin, it’s far below the $3.31 it touched in January 2025, leaving investors scratching their heads.

Is this the calm before another storm — or the start of a slow fade into irrelevance?

The Trump Bump That Sparked a Crypto Frenzy

It started with a red wave. When Donald Trump secured his return to the White House in November 2024, crypto markets didn’t just cheer — they exploded.

XRP led the charge, shooting past Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even Dogecoin in percentage gains. Investors weren’t just reacting to politics; they were betting on promises.

Trump’s campaign had teased big crypto plans: favorable regulation, domestic mining incentives, and most buzzworthy of all — a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, paired with a Digital Asset Stockpile. It felt like a federal endorsement of everything blockchain stood for.

There was talk of XRP being included in that reserve alongside the usual suspects. That was enough to drive speculation into overdrive.

• XRP jumped 255% from early November to mid-January
• Ethereum rose 44%
• Dogecoin doubled
• Bitcoin added around 39% before correcting

The cherry on top? Hopes that a Republican-controlled SEC would finally squash the long-running XRP lawsuit. With so much optimism flying around, buying XRP felt like a no-brainer.

Reality Check Hit Harder Than Expected

But optimism can be fragile. The party ended before the inauguration even started.

XRP hit its peak on January 18. Since then, it’s lost more than a third of its value. Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum didn’t fare much better. But XRP’s fall stings a little more because expectations were sky-high.

Trump’s administration did follow through on the reserves — kind of. But the massive federal buying spree? Didn’t happen.

Instead, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the broader Digital Asset Stockpile will mostly just manage crypto assets already in the government’s hands. Think seized assets from criminal cases, not billion-dollar treasury buys.

Meanwhile, global market jitters didn’t help. Investors pulled back from risky assets across the board. Cryptos — especially one focused on cross-border payments like XRP — got hit hard.

Is This the Bottom — Or Just the Beginning?

Here’s the frustrating part: XRP still has real reasons to be on investor radars.

The SEC case? Almost done.

Ripple Labs? Gaining ground with nearly a million daily payment transactions, up from just 150,000 two years ago.

There’s also RLUSD — Ripple’s stablecoin — designed to simplify fund management on RippleNet. And let’s not forget that several firms are filing for XRP-based ETFs.

That’s a lot of forward momentum. Still, there’s a catch: none of it guarantees near-term price action. Not this summer. Not even this year.

Markets are moody, and XRP can’t escape the broader vibes.

Past Performance vs. Present Position

Let’s look at how XRP’s trajectory compares to its crypto peers since Trump’s election.

So yeah, XRP isn’t alone in falling back to earth. But the highs were higher — and the comedown steeper.

There’s another problem: XRP’s utility is tied to cross-border transfers. If global trade takes a hit, so does its use case. And with tariffs and inflation fears brewing, that’s not great news.

What Investors Should Really Be Asking

Forget trying to time the bottom. That almost never works.

The better question? Whether XRP at $2.18 is a fair entry point for someone who believes in the project long-term.

Some folks argue it’s not cheap enough. Others say waiting too long means missing out. No one can really say which camp will be right.

Still, there are ways to play it safe:

• Build a small position now and scale up slowly
• Use cost averaging instead of betting big all at once
• Keep expectations realistic and time horizons long

And one more thing — don’t forget that crypto is still speculation. No matter how many payment partners or ETF filings XRP collects, it’s not a blue-chip stock.

So… Value Trap or Buy of the Year?

There’s no crystal ball, and anyone claiming they have one should be ignored immediately.

What we do know is this: XRP has survived a legal war with the SEC, grown its transaction base dramatically, and still sits among the top crypto assets by market cap. That counts for something.

Yet markets haven’t rewarded those facts lately. Not in spring 2025.

You might decide the risk is worth it. Or you might decide to sit this one out.

Both are fair calls — because until Washington moves from talk to action, XRP’s future is all potential, no promise.