Standard Chartered slashes XRP price target by 65% as whales send millions of tokens to Binance
Standard Chartered cut its 2026 XRP price target by 65%, coinciding with increased whale transfers to Binance and choppy ETF flows.Summary
Standard Chartered reportedly reduced its end-2026 XRP price target by 65%, from $8.00 to $2.80, amidst broader cuts to crypto forecasts. This downward pressure on XRP's price occurs despite significant infrastructure upgrades on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), such as Permissioned Domains and Token Escrow, designed for institutional adoption.
The immediate bearish sentiment is driven by short-term market indicators. On-chain data shows a significant re-acceleration of whale transfers to Binance, with the 30-day moving average reaching 82.1 million XRP, signaling a potential supply overhang. This supply pressure coincides with weakening demand, evidenced by four XRP spot ETFs experiencing net outflows totaling over $46 million in the past four weeks, breaking an earlier streak of consistent inflows.
Furthermore, XRP derivatives markets show crowded bearish positioning, with funding rates turning negative. This combination of increased exchange supply, inconsistent ETF demand, and defensive derivatives positioning suggests XRP is currently trading more as a high-beta risk asset than a technology play. While XRPL upgrades strengthen the long-term case, they are not immediate demand drivers, leading to scenarios where the price could continue to decline toward $1.10-$1.35 unless supply signals cool or ETF flows stabilize.
(Source：CryptoSlate)