Should Investors Buy XRP While Its Price Is Below (or Near) $3?

Regulatory changes could be a tailwind for the cryptocurrency industry.

Investors who are bullish on the future of cryptocurrency and are willing to hold XRP for the long haul may want to consider buying the cryptocurrency now that it trades at a discount. Regulatory changes and the growing need for faster and cheaper cross-border payments could propel XRP to new heights in the coming years.

Should investors buy XRP while its price is below (or near) $3? Here are my thoughts.

Many pundits argue that under former Chairman Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) waged a war against cryptocurrency. But recent changes at the regulatory agency could be tailwinds for the industry that lead to greater adoption of digital assets.

In light of those changes, Morningstar analysts estimate the cryptocurrency market will be worth $7.4 trillion by the end of 2033. That implies 124% upside from the current value of $3.3 trillion, which equates to growth of 9% annually over the next nine years.

I find Morningstar's prediction quite plausible, and I would expect cryptocurrencies with real utility to realize an outsize portion of the gains. XRP satisfies that condition.

The SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network is currently the most popular system for transferring money internationally. But SWIFT typically routes payments through one or more intermediaries, each of which charges fees, which makes transactions costly and time consuming.

The European Central Bank writes:

"While domestic payments are becoming instant and digital, cross-border payments have yet to benefit from the transformative power of digital technologies. Fees for international payments currently average 1.5% for corporates and as much as 6.3% for remittances. And it can take up to several days for these payments to reach their recipient."

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the company aspires to move money seamlessly across borders. Indeed, its blockchain facilitates international payments and foreign currency exchanges in seconds by using XRP as a bridge currency.

Fewer than 200 financial institutions have joined the Ripple network, but some industry experts anticipate greater adoption in the coming years. For instance, CEO of Sound Planning Group David Stryzewski recently told Fox Business that XRP may be the highway most financial systems drive on in the future.

Similarly, former Goldman Sachs analyst Dom Kwok thinks XRP could soon overtake Ethereum as the second-most valuable cryptocurrency. Importantly, XRP's market value of $166 billion would need to increase 125% to match Ethereum's market value of $374 billion. I see two tailwinds that could make Kwok's prediction a reality: