XRP Could Challenge Ethereum, Bitcoin in New Cycle: Analyst

At the core of Taylor’s argument is a potential shift in U.S. regulatory policy, a scenario he frames not as a desired outcome but as a plausible market reality. He anchors this to comments from noted investor Mark Yusko, who warned of a future “curveball” where policymakers clamp down on private stablecoins like Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. Taylor suggests this could lead to a “CBDC version” of the financial system, where authorities steer users away from these private assets.

Taylor believes XRP, through its issuer Ripple, is uniquely positioned to benefit from such a shift. He points to Ripple’s established U.S. footprint, its endurance through years of regulatory “trials and tribulations,” and what he characterizes as its proximity to political power in Washington. “If the next phase of crypto adoption is shaped as much by compliance architecture as by ideology,” Taylor implies, XRP’s regulatory resilience could become a decisive advantage. He further connects this to broader discussions about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and reduced transactional privacy, citing comments from billionaire investor Ray Dalio about the risk of being financially “shut off.”

Beyond the narrative, Taylor builds his case on a compelling technical analysis of market structure. He focuses intently on Bitcoin dominance—the metric measuring Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market cap—which he describes as “really, really tight” on Bollinger Bands. This compression, he argues, signals a major volatility setup that has persisted for roughly six months, reaching levels reminiscent of the era “before ETH and ICOs.”

Historically, Taylor notes, drops in Bitcoin dominance have coincided with sharp XRP outperformance. He revisits an instance where an 11% Bitcoin pullback preceded what he describes as a 490% surge for XRP. While he allows for the possibility that Bitcoin dominance could squeeze higher and “suck the liquidity in,” Taylor increasingly favors a scenario where dominance breaks downward. This would mechanically strengthen the case for altcoins to outperform, with XRP as a prime candidate for what he terms “altcoin beta.”

Supporting this view, Taylor points to volume analysis on Binance. He argues that XRP’s recovery volume following recent selloffs has appeared “more aggressive” than the preceding downturns, whereas sellers seemed more dominant in Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) over the same period. This relative strength, visible on XRP cross-charts versus ETH and BTC, suggests to Taylor that a “positive price action” trigger could accelerate a significant relative breakout for the asset.

Taylor maps his most bullish scenario: Bitcoin returning to new highs—with targets floated at 150K and “180-ishk plus”—while Bitcoin dominance simultaneously collapses or “nukes.” This combination, he argues, would set the stage for “crazy price action” for XRP if it captures a meaningful share of that dominance unwind. He notes visible liquidity concentrated above XRP’s spot price—extending from roughly $1.50 up toward $4.30—with comparatively less stacked below, suggesting the potential for a rapid upward move.

“I think people are going to be shocked when we start to reverse and we reverse quickly,” Taylor said, arguing such a move could force traders out of short-term positions. Crucially, he emphasizes a trader’s discipline to position for what they believe is likely, not what they desire. “You don’t trade or place an investment on something you want to happen,” Taylor stated. “You place it on something that you think is going to happen.” His analysis is a cold assessment of potential policy shifts and chart patterns, cautioning against assuming reflexive pumps from near-term events like community meetings, while positioning for what he sees as a plausible regime shift.

At the time of his analysis, XRP traded at $1.3594. Taylor’s overarching claim is that a unique confluence of potential regulatory tailwinds and a coiled technical setup gives XRP a credible, if ambitious, path to challenge the crypto market’s long-standing leaders, Ethereum and Bitcoin, in the current cycle.