Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road, a multi-asset prime brokerage for $1.5 billion, marks a significant expansion into traditional finance. Hidden Road processes a staggering $10 billion in daily transactions, and Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, hinted that a portion of this volume might be processed using the XRP Ledger (XRPL). This has fueled significant interest among analysts and investors, especially as the question arises: what impact would this have on XRP’s price? Media analyst Zach Rector recently explored various scenarios in which the XRPL processes 10%, 30%, or 50% of Hidden Road’s daily transaction volume, resulting in liquidity ranging from $300 billion to $1.5 trillion annually.

If the XRP Ledger were to handle just 30% of Hidden Road’s $10 billion daily volume, it would mean an additional $3 billion flowing through XRPL every day. This could translate to around $1.5 trillion in annual transactions. While these figures might appear bullish, the direct relationship between transaction volume and price is not always straightforward. Several variables, including token velocity, market sentiment, and institutional interest, must also be considered.

Key Assumptions Behind the Projections

To explore the potential effects on XRP’s price, OpenAI’s ChatGPT was used to build a hypothetical scenario based on the assumption that XRP would act as a settlement asset for part of the transactions processed daily on the XRPL. If $1.5 billion out of the $3 billion in daily liquidity were settled using XRP, about $750 million in XRP liquidity would be needed every day. Given XRP’s price of around $2.14, this would require roughly 350 million XRP tokens to be in circulation solely for settlement purposes.

Institutional Demand and Reduced Supply

One of the critical assumptions in this scenario is that institutional investors would accumulate XRP in order to facilitate liquidity for these settlements. If these institutions hold onto a substantial portion of XRP, this could create upward pressure on the asset’s price. ChatGPT’s analysis posited that if just 5% of the circulating supply (roughly 2.7 billion XRP tokens) were accumulated and locked up by institutions, it would tighten the overall supply of XRP. Combined with a burn mechanism on the network, this would lead to a “repricing cycle,” where growing demand pushes up the value of XRP.

Short-Term Price Outlook

In the short term, over the next 6 to 12 months, the analysis suggests that XRP could see a price range between $5 and $7. This price increase would likely be driven by institutional demand, along with market speculation. In a more aggressive bullish scenario, XRP could potentially spike to $10 or even $15 in the near term, depending on the broader market conditions and demand dynamics.

Long-Term Price Outlook

Looking further ahead, over a 2 to 3-year period, ChatGPT’s model predicts that XRP could hit $20 to $30, assuming that Ripple’s ecosystem continues to expand and the demand for XRP as a settlement asset grows. This scenario assumes greater institutional usage, increasing partnerships, and most importantly, regulatory clarity that fosters confidence in XRP’s utility. If these conditions hold, Ripple could see its ecosystem grow substantially, further driving up the value of XRP.

In conclusion, the acquisition of Hidden Road and the possibility of the XRPL processing part of its transactions presents a promising future for XRP. While transaction volume alone does not guarantee price surges, the combination of institutional interest, increased demand, and tighter supply could create significant upward pressure on XRP’s price. The long-term potential for XRP remains substantial, especially if Ripple’s network continues to integrate with traditional financial systems, while regulatory frameworks evolve to support cryptocurrencies like XRP.