Institutional Focus Shifts Beyond Short-Term Price Targets
XRP, having navigated the significant SEC-Ripple lawsuit in 2025, continues to command considerable attention within the financial landscape.
Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, has articulated a new perspective on XRP, asserting that it should no longer be viewed as a purely speculative asset. Instead, he argues that its value should be assessed in the context of its role within the global financial infrastructure, rather than solely through the lens of short-term price fluctuations.
In a recent interview, McClurg highlighted that institutional investors are primarily concerned with XRP's capacity to facilitate trillions of dollars in real-world asset swaps. This focus supersedes their interest in whether XRP will trade at specific single-digit price points.
McClurg elaborated that price levels that appear significant to individual investors are perceived very differently by institutions managing billions of dollars. For these large entities, the underlying utility and scalability of an asset are paramount.
The renowned CEO described XRP not as a token subject to speculative hype cycles, but rather as a robust financial infrastructure system engineered for efficient, large-scale value transfer. This reframing positions XRP as a critical component of modern financial operations.
“XRP is now an asset that Wall Street and much of the global capital markets understand.”
McClurg noted that major corporations are shifting their attention from merely assessing whether XRP meets their needs to determining how rapidly they can integrate it into their systems for large-scale operations. This indicates a growing acceptance and practical application of XRP technology.
Future Outlook and Regulatory Impact
While McClurg indicated that XRP price predictions are no longer his primary focus, he did offer a projection, suggesting that XRP could reach $5 by 2026. This forecast is attributed to its increasing adoption and the expansion of its real-world use cases.
The Canary Capital CEO further stated that the establishment of clearer cryptocurrency regulations could catalyze market differentiation. This environment, he believes, would lead to assets like XRP appreciating in value based on their tangible real-world utility and widespread adoption.
McClurg expressed a generally optimistic outlook for XRP's future. However, he maintained a cautious stance regarding Bitcoin, suggesting that it might not achieve a new all-time high until 2027. This differential prediction highlights his specific views on the trajectories of different digital assets.