The XRP price outlook is drawing renewed investor attention after Federal Reserve President Jerome Powell’s remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium triggered a major market upswing. His unexpected dovish tone lifted crypto markets broadly, with asset managers now forecasting new all-time highs across major cryptocurrencies.

Powell’s Policy Shift Sets the Stage

In a pivotal speech delivered at the globally watched Jackson Hole event, Jerome Powell indicated that maintaining high interest rates could pose risks to employment. For eight consecutive months, the benchmark rate has held at 4.25%, but Powell’s comments suggest a potential pivot toward easing policy soon.

“Downside risks to employment are rising,” he stated, while also downplaying long-term inflation concerns linked to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. With policy already in restrictive territory, Powell hinted that an adjustment to the Fed’s stance may be warranted.

The speech triggered an immediate rally across cryptocurrencies and equities. Markets quickly priced in a 90% chance of a September interest rate cut, pointing to optimism across institutional and retail investors.

ETH Eyes $5K, BTC Nears Records

Analysts are now aligning with the bullish sentiment. At Monarq Asset Management, experts believe ether (ETH) could soon surpass the $5,000 threshold.

“Powell’s dovish comments cleared a path to $5,000+ for ether in the short term,” said Sam Gaer, chief investment officer of the firm’s Directional Fund. He added that treasury investment vehicles could bolster demand in the coming months, especially as summer’s crypto deals finalize and institutional inflows resume.

At the time of reporting, ETH was trading around $4,700—just shy of its record highs beyond $4,800, according to CoinDesk data. Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC) hovered near $115,600, marginally off its overnight peak of $117,400.

Outperformance in ETH Demand

Derivatives data adds fuel to the bullish case. ETH call options are showing strength, with positive risk reversals across all expiry periods, suggesting strong interest in upside positions. Meanwhile, BTC derivatives aren’t showing the same level of enthusiasm.

“OTC desks are experiencing greater demand for ETH than for BTC,” Gaer highlighted, implying that Ethereum may soon outpace Bitcoin in performance.

Still, demand for BTC remains solid. The latest decline from all-time highs was contained to just 9.6%, with strong buying around the $113,000 level, driven by whale wallet accumulation, Gaer noted.

Spencer Yang from BlockSpaceForce echoed the optimism, forecasting not just the September rate cut but potentially several more, sustaining bullish momentum throughout the rest of the year.

“We expect multiple rate cuts after September. The rally should continue into year-end,” Yang stated. He rated BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, and LINK as top cryptocurrencies with significant exposure across crypto infrastructure sectors.

ETF Inflows and Broader Market Trends

Steve Lee of Neoclassic Capital emphasized the role of spot ETF flows in sustaining this rally. “ETF volume trends today and into Monday could offer insight into whether we’ve entered a bull run extension,” he said in a commentary to CoinDesk.

As a venture investor, Lee is keeping an eye on projects like Base, Monad, Story, and SUI. These emerging blockchain startups could benefit downstream from this broader market enthusiasm.

Sam Gaer also expressed confidence in the Solana ecosystem and highlighted SOL tokens such as JITO and JUP, as well as decentralized exchange tokens like Raydium and PUMP, as strong bets due to their underlying fundamentals and demand outlook.

Bullish sentiment dominates crypto markets after Powell’s dovish pivot at Jackson Hole.

DAT Deal Quality and Equity Volatility Pose Risks

Despite the market uplift, experts caution traders to stay alert to underlying risks. One area of concern is the quality of Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) deals. DATs offer institutional investors indirect exposure to crypto, but growing signs of structural weaknesses are raising red flags.

“We’re starting to notice deterioration in DAT deal quality—from banking backers to governance models. It’s a warning shot for anyone assuming smooth sailing,” Lee explained.

Public companies have increasingly allocated holdings to bitcoin since 2020, with over 984,000 BTC now held collectively, as per data from Bitcoin Treasuries. While the trend shows enthusiasm, it also introduces systemic risk given market dependencies on corporate strategies.

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Gaer advised keeping tabs on potential macroeconomic or geopolitical disruptions, especially with equity markets showing signs of overheating.