Core Viewpoint - Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research, Geoffrey Kendrick, has raised the XRP price target to $8 by 2026, indicating a potential increase of +330% from its current price of $1.86, reflecting the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in mainstream finance [1]. Group 1: XRP Price Target and Market Reaction - The new price target of $8 is linked to recent regulatory clarity and increased demand for XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., which have attracted over $1 billion [2]. - Despite the bullish forecast, the current market conditions show a bearish divergence in the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), suggesting that the market may need to stabilize before reaching the $8 target [3]. Group 2: Background on Ripple and XRP - Ripple develops payment software for banks and remittance firms, with XRP serving as a bridge currency to facilitate efficient cross-border transactions [4]. - The SEC's lawsuit against Ripple in 2020 claimed that XRP sales were illegal securities offerings; however, a U.S. court ruled that XRP sales to retail traders did not constitute securities transactions, which has cleared the way for U.S. spot XRP ETFs [5]. Group 3: Importance of XRP ETFs - Spot XRP ETFs allow traditional investors to gain exposure to XRP in a stock-like format, with net inflows reaching approximately $1.14 billion by late December [6]. - Standard Chartered's bullish stance on XRP, alongside previous aggressive calls on other cryptocurrencies, indicates that institutional clients are increasingly inquiring about XRP [7].