Here’s How High XRP Must Climb to Ease Liquidity Stress in Sovereign Settlements

A market commentator has assessed the price at which XRP must rise to facilitate sovereign-scale settlements with ease.

Today, XRP trades slightly above $1.9, but most analysts believe the crypto asset remains undervalued, especially when considering its potential role in global settlements. 

Notably, they believe large banks and sovereign institutions would need XRP priced much higher to move value smoothly and efficiently. Dr. Kamila Stevenson has supported this view, noting that banks would struggle to meet settlement needs at today’s price levels.

XRP Needs to Trade at $1,500-$3,000

Interestingly, Rob Cunningham of the KUWL Show shares this belief. In a recent post on X, Cunningham assessed the price range at which XRP could remove pre-funding, limit slippage, and ease liquidity pressure for sovereign-scale transactions.

Cunningham based his analysis on global settlement volumes, order book depth, central bank transaction sizes, and the need to reduce balance-sheet strain. From this, he concluded that XRP would need to trade between $1,500 and $3,000 to operate cleanly at a sovereign level.

To explain his reasoning, Cunningham presented a scenario where XRP trades around $2,000. At this price, he estimated the network value at about $200 trillion. 

Meanwhile, with a velocity assumption of 10x, he suggested the XRP Ledger could support up to $2 quadrillion in daily settlement capacity. He added that a single XRP would then represent a meaningful settlement unit. This would allow large sovereign transactions to clear without splitting liquidity across multiple pools.

At such price levels, Cunningham believes XRP’s role would change entirely. He argued that XRP would no longer behave like a speculative asset. Instead, it would function as financial infrastructure and act as a settlement rail and a reserve asset. 

Moreover, liquidity would become largely seamless, the cost of capital would move toward zero, and XRP would behave more like a system that powers finance rather than a typical form of money.

How Could Lower XRP Prices Work?

Notably, Cunningham also assessed how this would work at lower price levels. He said XRP around $500 could still be feasible, but only with inefficiencies. 

At that range, institutions would rely on workarounds that XRP was designed to avoid. To him, the $1,500 to $3,000 range marks the point where XRP fully delivers on its intended purpose. Beyond this level, the market would focus less on price and more on capacity.

He then explained that once markets recognize XRP as essential infrastructure, its price would no longer move like that of a normal asset. Specifically, instead of responding to earnings, stories, or cycles, XRP would reprice based on its role in the financial system. 

Cunningham believes institutions would treat XRP as a required tool, long-term holders would stop selling, and available supply would tighten.

A Three-Stage Valuation Process for XRP

The market pundit compared this to major historical changes, such as reserve currency transitions or the recognition of critical infrastructure. Notably, he called attention to a potential three-stage price process. 

The first stage would involve a rapid recognition period, due to clear regulation, sovereign or treasury-level adoption, or firm signals of real institutional use. During this time, he expects sharp price increases that could range from 5x to 20x in weeks.

The second stage would follow as markets focus on future demand rather than current pricing. Cunningham said this phase could push XRP from $100 to $500 and then toward $1,500 without heavy retail involvement. Specifically, institutional planning, market positioning ahead of scarcity, and capital shifts from bonds and foreign exchange markets would drive this move.

Meanwhile, in a subsequent post, Cunningham presented a third stage lasting one to three years. During this phase, XRP would enter what he described as infrastructure pricing. 

Late Update – apologies that I missed including this key section in my original post.

Phase III – Infrastructure Pricing (1–3 years)

At this point:
• XRP is no longer “priced”
• It’s managed

Think:
• yield curves
• collateral haircuts
• corridor liquidity…

— Rob Cunningham | KUWL.show (@KuwlShow) December 22, 2025

Notably, the markets would manage XRP through frameworks like liquidity corridors and collateral rules rather than speculation. Volatility would ease only after prices rise enough to remove liquidity stress, making four-digit prices normal instead of exceptional.

Cunningham concluded that most of XRP’s price adjustment would happen before broad agreement feels comfortable. According to him, XRP would rise not because belief spreads, but because institutions cannot afford to risk losing access to important settlement infrastructure.