While the price of XRP has lost momentum around the $2 mark, prominent figures in the community are discussing the next catalysts for a potential price storm.

Today, XRP is up 1.5%, currently trading at $2.10, with an improved weekly performance of 5.6%. Although the coin remains down by 36% from its three-month high, optimism remains high among enthusiasts who believe a major storm that could drive prices to a new peak is brewing.

In a recent discussion, Abdullah Nassif, aka “Abs”—host of the Good Morning Crypto podcast—and Bradley Kimes, the influencer behind the “Digital Perspectives” X account, explored the next catalyst that could propel XRP’s price.

Central to the discussion are the potential effects of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the XRP price.

The Perfect Storm for XRP Price Surge

Kimes asserted that the introduction of ETFs would be massive for XRP. He compared them to “giant vacuum cleaners” that could suck up all the liquidity of XRP. 

He explained that when clients purchase shares of the XRP ETF, the market withdraws some XRP tokens from the available supply. Essentially, this demand will create upward pressure on the XRP price due to the decreasing supply in the market.

To emphasize the potential scale, he noted that there are over ten asset managers actively pursuing ETFs that would directly invest in XRP. Notable names among these include Bitwise, with $12 billion in assets under management, and Grayscale, which manages $50 billion. Even the trillion-dollar asset manager Franklin Templeton is pursuing an XRP ETF.

In fact, there are more asset managers looking to launch an XRP ETF than any other cryptocurrency asset. Proponents see this as a massive development for the coin, expecting daily inflows from ETFs to add substantial buying pressure and potentially send the price “to the moon.”

Beyond ETFs, Kimes also pointed out that demand for XRP through payment services from market makers, who require daily XRP liquidity, could further drive prices up. Together with ETFs, he believes this creates “the perfect storm for a price surge.”

How Will ETFs Impact XRP’s Price?

Precisely how ETFs would impact XRP’s price is still uncertain, but industry commentators have speculated on various scenarios.

An analysis by The Crypto Basic last year explored a scenario in which XRP ETFs see $500 million in daily inflows. It argued this could push the price to $23. Another analysis speculated that if XRP captures 50% of Bitcoin’s ETF inflows, it could lead to a 3x price increase.

Meanwhile, U.S. banking giant JPMorgan estimates XRP ETFs could attract $8 billion in their first year—a prediction echoed by Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek. John Deaton, founder of CryptoLaw, believes the momentum from ETF approvals could even help XRP become the largest altcoin by market cap.

“Only BlackRock ETF Matters”

On the flip side, critics like Joshua Jake argue that the only ETF that would truly matter for XRP is one launched by BlackRock. Jake shared this view to counter the widespread optimism surrounding the impact of the more than ten ETF applications.

His argument centers on the fact that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has been the most successful among all issuers. Since its inception, the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF has seen inflows of $39.67 billion, while some issuers—such as Invesco and WisdomTree—have failed to surpass even $100 million.

Meanwhile, speculation within the XRP community suggests that BlackRock may be considering an XRP ETF to stay competitive, though this remains unconfirmed. In fact, an earlier statement from the firm suggested disinterest in pursuing an XRP-based ETF. However, this came up at a time when the fate of the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit remained unclear.