Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick estimates that Bitcoin will trade at $225,000 in 2027. That’s a 155% increase from its current price of $88,000.
Kendrick is apparently more bullish on XRP. He expects the coin to trade at $10.40 by 2027, implying an increase of around 455% from its current price of $1.87.
Bitcoin and XRP should benefit as spot ETFs increase demand, but Kendrick’s price target for Bitcoin appears more reasonable than his price target for XRP.
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Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Authorized BankHe is one of the most bullish cryptocurrency analysts on Wall Street. While cryptocurrencies have performed poorly in 2025 for several reasons, including the economic and geopolitical uncertainty created by tariffs, Kendrick expects big gains in bitcoin (CRYPT: BTC) and XRP(CRYPT: XRP) in the next two years.
Kendrick says Bitcoin will reach $225,000 in 2027, which is a 155% increase from its current price of $88,000.
Kendrick says that XRP will reach $10.40 in 2027, implying a 455% increase from its current price of $1.87.
Here’s what investors should know about these cryptocurrencies.
Image source: Getty Images.
Geoffrey Kendrick sees the favorable regulatory environment as a key tailwind for cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, President Trump created a task force to strengthen American leadership in digital financial technology and signed an executive order creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital asset reserve.
Additionally, Trump signed the Genius Act over the summer, which established a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. He also selected cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). And the Clarity Act, which passed the House of Representatives in July, seeks to define which federal agencies have jurisdiction over different types of digital assets.
Finally, the SEC formed its own cryptocurrency task force and rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 121, a rule imposed under the Biden administration that required financial institutions to treat custodial cryptocurrencies as both an asset and a balance sheet liability, raising reserve requirements. According to Kendrick, the rescission of SAB 121 should promote the adoption of digital assets by institutional investors.
Bitcoin treasury companies (those whose primary financial strategy involves holding a large amount of Bitcoin on their balance sheets) have been a major source of demand. The best known and largest is Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which holds 671,268 BTC, but other companies have adopted a similar model.
However, Kendric believes that Bitcoin treasury companies will be a less important source of demand in the future. In fact, they could be an obstacle in the short term. Strategy CEO Phong Le said the company can sell Bitcoin if its mNAV (enterprise value divided by Bitcoin reserve value) falls below 1. Strategy’s mNAV is currently 1.07, down from 1.7 in June.
Going forward, Kendrick expects spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be the most important source of demand. Those investment products follow the spot price of Bitcoin. They reduce friction by eliminating the hassles and high fees associated with traditional cryptocurrency exchanges, providing access to Bitcoin through traditional brokerage accounts.
The approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs has paved the way for institutional adoption, which is key to long-term price appreciation because institutional investors have nearly $150 trillion in assets under management (AUM). “Institutions are adopting Bitcoin for its diversification, long-term growth, and improved regulatory clarity.” state street the strategists wrote in December.
Importantly, Bitcoin is currently about 30% from its peak, and big dips have historically been excellent buying opportunities for patient investors. Morgan Stanley recommends that investors with a high risk tolerance limit cryptocurrency exposure to 4% of their portfolio, while those with a mild risk tolerance should draw the line at 2%. Those rules are reasonable.
XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger, a blockchain that supports faster and cheaper cross-border transactions than SWIFT, the industry standard for bank transfers. Importantly, fintech company Ripple uses XRP to help financial institutions send money, and CEO Brad Garlinghouse believes XRP will capture 14% of SWIFT volume within five years.
In that scenario, XRP would facilitate more than $20 trillion in transactions a year, and that groundswell of demand would cause its price to skyrocket. But I doubt XRP will come close to that figure. Very few financial institutions use XRP as a bridge currency for cross-border payments because it makes no sense to move money with a volatile cryptocurrency when stablecoins exist.
Ripple has addressed that problem by introducing a stablecoin, USD Ripplebut it competes with much more established options such as USDT (from Tether) and USDC (of Internet Circle Group). Ripple USD payments would incur XRP-denominated fees, meaning its adoption would drive demand for XRP. But XRP trading volume has declined since Ripple USD launched in December 2024, suggesting neither coin is gaining much traction.
The most compelling investment thesis for XRP is that the recent approval of XRP spot ETFs could unlock demand among institutional investors and retail investors. In fact, since the first XRP spot ETF was approved in November, assets under management have surpassed $1 billion. That’s well below the $33 billion in AUM spot Bitcoin ETFs accumulated in its first month, but still points to modest demand.
Here’s the bottom line: I would prioritize Bitcoin over XRP. In fact, I would buy shares of Circle Internet Group (the issuer of USDC) before buying XRP. While I think Kendrick might be right about Bitcoin rising 155% by 2027, I think his XRP price target is too high.
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Trevor Jennewine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool holds and recommends Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Top 2 Cryptocurrencies to Buy Before They Skyrocket 155% and 455% by 2027, According to Wall Street Analyst Originally Published by The Motley Fool
