Veteran Trader Peter Brandt Says XRP Could Explode to $5.40 — But Issues a Blunt Warning

Veteran Trader Peter Brandt Says XRP Could Explode to $5.40 — But Issues a Blunt Warning

Giuseppe Ciccomascolo

Tue, September 22, 2026 at 5:32 PM GMT+3 5 min read

• XRP-USD -4.64%

Key Takeaways

• Peter Brandt's long-term XRP chart suggests a potential advance to $5.40, roughly 251% above $1.54, with no specified timeline.

• Brandt warned that posting a price prediction does not prove an actual trade or trading success.

• XRP remained below its 18-month moving average near $1.88, while elevated options-implied volatility signaled potential swings in either direction.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has outlined a long-term XRP price target of $5.40, suggesting substantial upside even as the cryptocurrency works to recover from a deep correction.

But the bullish projection came with a pointed warning: posting a chart does not prove someone placed a successful trade.

Brandt's comments arrived as XRP climbed toward $1.54, with market participants weighing improving momentum against expectations of elevated volatility. Reaching his target from that level would require a gain of approximately 251%.

His analysis offered no deadline, making the distinction between a potential destination and an actionable trading strategy central to the message.

Brandt Draws a Line Between Forecasts and Trades

"This is my long-term chart of $XRP. It implies an eventual advance to $5.40," Brandt wrote.

He immediately challenged the practice of treating public predictions as evidence of trading success.

"A claim of a 'call' or simple presentation of a chart is NOT a trade," he added, describing unsupported trading claims as "BS" and stressing that an X post does not constitute proof.

The warning concerns accountability rather than an explicit rejection of XRP's upside potential. A forecast can identify a direction correctly without showing whether its author entered a position, managed losses or ultimately made money.

Brandt's professional biography says he entered commodity trading in 1976 and founded Factor Trading in 1980. His career has centered on proprietary trading and classical chart analysis.

XRP's Monthly Chart Shows a Longer Road Higher

Brandt's analysis uses monthly XRP/USDT candles, placing the projection on a substantially longer horizon than typical daily trading setups.

A descending resistance line from the 2018 peak converged with ascending support originating around the 2020 lows. XRP eventually broke above that structure during its subsequent major advance.

However, the cryptocurrency later surrendered substantial ground after surging beyond $3.

The chart placed XRP around $1.49, below its 18-month moving average near $1.88. That leaves a significant technical hurdle between current prices and a stronger recovery.

Moving from $1.49 to $1.88 would itself require approximately 26% upside. XRP would then need to reclaim higher territory before approaching Brandt's eventual objective.

The setup therefore describes a long-term bullish possibility in a market still recovering from earlier losses. It does not establish that an immediate breakout toward $5.40 has begun.

XRP Rallies as Options Traders Price Larger Swings

XRP traded between $1.41 and $1.57 during that period before retreating modestly from its session high. Those figures represent a different snapshot from the roughly $1.49 shown in Brandt's chart.

Meanwhile, Coinbase Markets estimated an options-implied, one-standard-deviation XRP move of approximately 8.9% through Sept. 27.

That exceeded the corresponding estimates for Solana at 8.0%, Ethereum at 6.9%, and Bitcoin at 5.0%. XRP's implied move also stood at around 1.79 times its historical median seven-day move.

These estimates describe the magnitude of potential price fluctuations, not their direction. Elevated implied volatility can accompany sharp declines as well as rallies.

Utility Debate Adds Context, but Does Not Validate the Target

The forecast also drew criticism from X user James Treanor, who disputed XRP's usefulness and argued that Bitcoin would prevail in competition among monetary assets.

That response reflects a broader disagreement over whether adoption of Ripple's services and the XRP Ledger necessarily creates sustained demand for XRP.

For traders, Brandt's message combines optimism with a demand for evidence. The chart points to $5.40 as a potential target, while his warning asks readers to distinguish analysis from documented execution.

Until XRP rebuilds its technical position, the target remains a scenario with uncertain timing and outcome.

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