The XRP price prediction for 2026 has sparked quite a bit of debate lately, as Younghoon Kim, who actually claims to have an IQ of 276, has been predicting that the token could end up outperforming both gold and silver. Right now, the forecast comes at a time when XRP trades around $1.87, which is up about 1.44% over the past 24 hours, while silver has already surged by roughly 167.70% throughout 2025 and XRP has fallen by 14.99%. Market data from Santiment shows that XRP sentiment continues to remain deeply negative at the time of writing, with bearish mentions running anywhere from 20% to 30% higher than what observers saw back in November.
Also Read: XRP Prediction For January 2026 Revealed as a Make-or-Break Test
XRP Price Prediction 2026 Highlights Market Volatility, Gold, Silver Gains
Kim’s Bold Forecast Amid Precious Metals Rally
The comparison between XRP vs gold and XRP vs silver has been drawing a lot of attention from investors, especially given the performance gap that’s been observed recently. Kim actually stated on X:
“My prediction: XRP may outperform gold and silver in 2026.”
In a separate post, he also added:
“Gold and silver are pumping. XRP will be next.”
Silver prices have been climbing and actually hit $84 per ounce on Sunday, which marks an increase of about 170% for 2025, according to CCN analyst Victor Olanrewaju. The metal’s market capitalisation even briefly exceeded NVIDIA’s at around $4.40 trillion. Along with this, XRP’s market cap is currently standing at $113.28 billion, which is significantly below gold’s $31.719 trillion and silver’s $4.485 trillion. The XRP price prediction 2026 has been challenged by these numbers, though Kim remains optimistic about the token’s potential.
Long-Term Outlook and Market Sentiment
When looking at XRP vs gold performance, the gap seems quite substantial right now. However, Kim has suggested that XRP could be nearing a major market cycle peak, and he’s been pointing to seasonal patterns along with technical indicators. He said that a rally into late 2025 was possible, with “many signals” pointing toward a potential all-time high in January 2026.
The XRP investment potential extends well beyond 2026 in Kim’s view, actually. Earlier this month, he had suggested that XRP could even reach $1,000 within a decade. He wrote:
“Under the assumption of a significant decline in the dollar’s value alongside sustained inflation, this scenario cannot be ruled out on a numerical basis.”
Santiment describes the XRP market outlook as a “fear zone,” with pessimism currently sitting at its highest level since October. The comparison of XRP vs silver also shows that precious metals have outperformed crypto assets by a wide margin in 2025. Many analysts question the XRP price prediction for 2026 and point to the fact that negative commentary surrounding XRP has climbed well above historical norms.
Also Read: XRP Holds Steady At $1.90: Will 2026 Push It Beyond $3?
Competing With Traditional Safe-Haven Assets
Kim also drew some attention for his comments comparing himself to Strategy’s Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor. He wrote that he was “literally” smarter than Saylor, before adding that his take was that “XRP is better.” The comments actually mark a reversal for Kim, who had previously published dozens of social media posts that were promoting Bitcoin’s dominance.
The token tries to surpass major resistance points while investors continue to debate the XRP investment potential as a controversial issue. At the time the article was written, market participants have been interested in whether XRP can maintain its recent recovery and gain momentum in the next five years, 2026. A blend of factors, such as regulatory issues with crypto security, market volatility, and difficulty in competing with other traditional safe-haven assets that have recorded solid returns have defined the future of the XRP market.
Kim’s prediction for XRP in 2026 comes as precious metals have staged quite a sharp rally, with silver in particular posting some pretty substantial gains. The move briefly lifted silver’s market capitalisation above that of U.S. chipmaker NVIDIA, making it the world’s second-most valuable asset behind gold. Despite prices later falling back to around $75 per ounce before recovering somewhat, silver’s market value stood at approximately $4.40 trillion, compared with NVIDIA’s $4.63 trillion, according to Olanrewaju.
Time will tell whether the XRP price prediction for 2026 proves accurate, as sentiment data continues to paint a cautious picture even as some analysts maintain bullish forecasts for the token’s performance against traditional assets like gold and silver.