Can XRP Really Reach $20,000? Expert Analysis From a Top Developer - Crypto News Flash

• Steingraber says XRP could hit $20,000 as institutions quietly drain public supply via private ledgers.
• Mass entry by banks and funds may trigger a sudden XRP shortage, driving the price sky-high overnight.

Game developer Chad Steingraber has repeated his bold prediction that XRP could reach $20,000 per coin. With the asset currently trading around $2, this suggests a possible increase by a factor of 10,000. The forecast, originally shared in 2022, is still getting attention, partly due to the specific plan Steingraber has outlined for how such a price might be reached.

Unlike speculation-driven price jumps seen in other tokens, his forecast is built around institutional participation and use-case growth.

This narrative, which he recently reinforced on X, outlines a structured path tied to utility and constrained availability. Steingraber did not hold back in expressing his certainty, stating,

This is how it will.

He bases this prediction on three main developments. The first is the rise of tokenized assets using the XRP Ledger. As more stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are introduced, XRP is expected to function as the settlement layer behind them.

This shifts XRP from being just a traded asset to the core mechanism handling potentially billions or even trillions in digital transactions.

Source: X### Institutional Demand and Private Ledger Use May Drain Public Supply

Another key part of the prediction depends on banks and financial institutions taking up XRP as a reserve asset. This would enhance its position from traded token to held asset, similar to gold As the institutions keep XRP as reserves against internal assets, the market availability would be significantly affected.

This leads to the next critical point: institutional removal of XRP from public markets. Steingraber predicts that institutions will keep tokens out of circulation permanently by settling them into private networks. He approximates that about 20 billion tokens are still out there, and even less will be available when the institutional actors take their positions.

In Steingraber’s scenario, institutions would avoid public exchanges altogether due to privacy and counterparty concerns They would, rather, transact through private ledgers with the assistance of institutional liquidity providers. Today’s public retail activity is merely the warm-up. Once the big players are engaged, the real impact begins.

FOMO and Global Race May Trigger Massive Price Shift

Steingraber’s strongest assumption revolves around a supply shock. He envisions institutions entering the market simultaneously, drawing on public order books. Prices would then move from levels today to the thousands within a matter of hours—not for profit, but to facilitate big scale financial operations.

Lost keys, burns, and long-term locks have already reduced the supply of XRP. He believes the available supply will eventually be less than 100 million tokens. This shortage, with the inclusion of purchases by banks and sovereign funds, would leave little for the public.

He also asserts that the race will not be exclusive to U.S. banks. International players, sovereign wealth funds, and high-net-worth individuals will also compete for a share of XRP. The vision propels XRP as an underlying asset in cross-border financial infrastructures, which, according to him, will not keep the token value stagnant.