XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) has experienced four major market crashes since launching in 2013. The crashes in 2014, 2018, 2022 erased at least 60% of its value before rewarding patient holders who held through the downturn with gains around 1,000%.
The fourth crash saw XRP fall nearly 73%, from its $3.65 cycle high in July 2025 to $0.99 in August 2026. With XRP rallying nearly 40% to $1.47 over the last four days, is the fourth rally in play?
XRP’s First Three Crashes and the Rallies That Followed
XRP’s previous three crashes resulted from several market downturns and negative catalysts that intensified selling pressure on the token.
2014 – 2016 Crash
XRP listed at 0.0058 in August 2013 and by the end of the year, it had rallied to $0.027, a 365.5% rally within four months. XRP’s performance during this period tracked Bitcoin’s run from $104 to $760, since altcoins typically ride BTC’s momentum when it rallies, and OpenCoin’s rebrand to Ripple Labs in Q3 2013 added its own boost.
However, XRP’s rally faded in 2014, with the coin closing eight months in the red zone compared to four green months. XRP fell by nearly 83% to $0.0047 in April, driven by co-founder and former CTO Jed McCaleb’s announcement that he would sell his remaining 9 billion XRP holdings and the news that he had co-founded Stellar (XLM), a rival network to XRP’s early dominance.
XRP traded between $0.0030 and $0.0080 for most of 2015 and 2016, with several failed attempts to reclaim the $0.2733 high set in December 2013. However, XRP’s momentum turned positive in March, April, and May 2017, with the token rallying 278.1%, 137.3%, and 378.1%, respectively.
That run took XRP from $0.0047 in April 2014 to $0.24 by May 2017, a 51x gain. XRP kept climbing, rallying another 818.9% to $2.85 by December 2017, a 606x gain from the original $0.0047 low.
2018 – 2020 Crash
Holders who rode the 2014-2016 downturn began cashing in once XRP hit its all-time high of $3.84 on January 4, 2018. The token fell 49.4% that same month, to $1.16. XRP’s fall continued through the year, hitting its lowest price of $0.254 in August as the broader crypto market remained deep in a prolonged bear market and major cryptos experienced heavy sell-offs.
XRP suffered an 84% decline that year, and another 47.1% drop in 2019 as Ripple Labs continued heavy token sales that added to circulating supply while retail confidence plummeted. These factors pushed XRP’s price to $0.19 by year-end. XRP had more red months than green ones in 2020, but the performance during the green months offset the losses, resulting in a modest 18.2% gain across all twelve months, with the token closing the year at $0.22.
The SEC lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020 added more pressure and caused some exchanges to delist XRP. However, XRP rallied in 2021, driven by the broader crypto market boom, which improved sentiment across the crypto market. XRP climbed to $1.96 in April of the same year, representing a nearly 1,000% rally from its $0.19 price in 2019.
2022 – 2024 Crash
The 2022 crypto market crash hit XRP hard, and the token fell about 85% from its $1.96 high in 2021 to around $0.29-$0.30. The coin then closed positively in 8 months out of 12 in 2023 despite Ripple’s battle with the SEC, which continued to weaken investor confidence.
Negative momentum continued into 2024, with XRP falling as low as $0.39 before rallying to $2.86 in December 2024 after Donald Trump’s re-election and investor confidence that his administration would introduce pro-crypto regulations for the market. That move marked a 633% rally, and the bullish trend continued until July 2025, when XRP reached its cycle high of $3.65, representing nearly a 900% gain.
XRP’s Fourth Crash: Can History Repeat Itself?
XRP’s current setup looks similar to the 2014, 2018, and 2022 market crashes. XRP’s recent nearly 40% gain over the last four days has traders questioning whether history will repeat itself. However, XRP’s 1,000% rally would only be confirmed after the token breaks above the $1.65-$1.70 and the $2 resistance levels.
XRP would move back into territory it has not traded in since January if it breaks above $2, which could set up a run at the next major resistance at $3.
XRP’s near-term catalysts, like ETF inflows, the CLARITY Act’s cloture vote and potential passage, and Ripple’s global cross-border expansion, will all weigh on whether the rally holds. These catalysts will likely determine if XRP’s latest nearly 40% gain in August develops into another 1,000% rally or eventually loses steam like previous failed recoveries.
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