The fourth quarter of 2025 began with an unpleasant surprise for Ripple investors. Instead of repeating the rally that followed Trump’s election victory the previous year, the XRP price collapsed during one of the biggest crypto crashes in history — falling to $2 and losing about 20% over the month. The continued delay in launching spot ETFs also cooled market enthusiasm. Nevertheless, Brandt — who has been trading for more than 40 years — shared a weekly XRP/USD chart on X showing a series of symmetrical triangles, each followed by a sharp breakout upward, and asked: “As a student of classical charting principles and history, has there ever been a clearer long-term chart than XRP?” Analyst CredibleCrypto supported Brandt’s bullish view, adding: “I expect XRP to hit double digits by the end of this cycle.”

Centralization Debate Around Ripple

Not all experts share this optimism. Justin Bons, founder of Cyber Capital, again criticized XRP, claiming the project misleads investors about its decentralization. He urged followers to “reject mediocrity and false promises,” pointing to the centralized nature of both XRP and BNB.

Over the past 3 months, XRP has significantly lagged behind
Over the past 3 months, XRP has significantly underperformed | Source: TradingView

The discussion about centralization has been going on for years. In July, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen faced backlash over the “perfectly timed” sale of 50 million XRP, while still controlling 2.81 billion coins — roughly 5% of total circulation. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is in a similar position, with his XRP holdings helping him reach billionaire status.

However, Ripple supporters, including lawyer Bill Morgan, argue that ETF application documents officially describe the XRP Ledger as a “public, decentralized, and permissionless blockchain.” Any false statement in these filings, he stressed, would carry legal consequences. “Nevertheless, some people still insist that XRPL is centralized,” Morgan remarked.

The ongoing dispute over XRP — caught between accusations of centralization and hopes for a renewed price rally — continues to divide the crypto community, analysts from FORECK.INFO concluded.