[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] As the cryptocurrency market searches for direction, bull-market targets for major altcoins are drawing attention again. Some industry figures and analysts are projecting that XRP could also post sharp gains if Ethereum and Dogecoin set new all-time highs in the next bull cycle.

On Jan. 24, blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Zia ul Haque (지아 울 하크), founder of Open4profit, recently presented a bull-market scenario targeting 2026. He projected Ethereum could reach $7,000 and Dogecoin $2. He also said XRP would be likely to set a new record high in that case.

XRP is currently trading around $1.90 and is down about 8 percent over the past week. Over the same period, Ethereum is moving in the $2,900 range and Dogecoin around $0.12, showing a broader corrective phase.

If Dogecoin reaches $2, that would mean a roughly 16-fold rise from the current price and would signal entry into a full-scale speculative phase for altcoins. Historically, when meme coins surge and Ethereum rises several-fold, a repeated pattern has been that funds rotate into large-cap altcoins.

If Ethereum reaches $7,000, its market value would exceed $800 billion. That would be a level at which Ethereum establishes itself as a core pillar of the global digital asset market after bitcoin. Haque projected that in such an environment XRP could rise to at least $5.

In Haque's model, XRP reaching $5 appears relatively stable compared with a Dogecoin surge. A rise from $1.90 to $5 would be an increase of about 2.6 times, and XRP's market value would approach $300 billion.

That outlook is seen as reflecting XRP's character as a "large-cap altcoin" that rises as funds rotate in a bull market, rather than an extremely speculative asset. It is more conservative than aggressive targets of $8 to $30 suggested by some analysts, but is interpreted as a realistic bull-market scenario.

Analysis by artificial intelligence models shows a similar trend. ChatGPT defined a scenario in which Dogecoin reaches $2 as a "market overheating phase" and said XRP would be likely to trade in a $4 to $8 range in that case. In a more aggressive scenario, it projected XRP could reach $26 to $50 by 2030.

Grok shared a similar view and said XRP could enter a $6 to $10 range if Ethereum reaches $7,000 and Dogecoin hits $2. If market heat spreads to an extreme, it said levels of $15 to $20 or higher could not be ruled out.

Forecasts differ on timing. Changelly projected Dogecoin could reach $2 around March 2033 and expected XRP could hit $38 around the same time. That would be a rise of more than about 1,800 percent from the current price.

By contrast, Telegaon said Dogecoin could reach $2 by 2029 and projected XRP would trade in a $13 to $16 range at that point.

Regardless of whether such projections are realised, the market broadly agrees that in the next bull cycle, moves in Ethereum and Dogecoin will be key variables determining direction for large-cap altcoins including XRP.