Ripple – Keep an eye on cycles

Hello everyone. I hope you had some wonderful days with your family and loved ones over the last two weeks during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Now we are at the start of a new year, which is usually the time when we step back and scan higher degree time frame charts to get a sense of what may happen in 2026, especially by looking at monthly and even yearly structures.

The first market I want to look at is Ripple. As you know, XRP has a lot of upside potential and there is a lot of optimism around this coin, mainly because it was trapped in a very large range for a long time due to the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Ripple Labs back in December 2020. The SEC claimed that XRP was an unregistered security, which created huge legal uncertainty. Many US exchanges delisted or suspended XRP, large funds avoided it, and new capital stayed away. With demand capped, price moved sideways for years.

Now that the market has finally broken to new all time highs, it feels like everyone wants to ride this trend further, and I do think more upside is possible. However, as you know, markets never move in straight lines, and even in strong uptrends we get sharp and sometimes aggressive pullbacks. These large swings, especially when they appear late in a cycle, can offer both opportunities and serious risks.

If you look at the cycle analysis on the monthly chart, it suggests we could already be in the late stages of the current bull run. On top of that, the structure can be interpreted as a fifth wave coming out of a large triangle. This opens the door for another push higher, possibly toward the 4 area, or even higher into the 5 to 6 zone. However, this could also represent a final leg up before the market starts a much larger and higher degree correction.

If we do get one more strong push higher next year, it is important to be very careful. Cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile, and once sentiment shifts, retracements can be deep and fast. If you are already riding this move and are waiting for one more new high, that could very well be the opportunity to take profits, while others are rushing in late.

All the best and good luck catching some nice trades in 2026.
Grega