Ripple CTO David Schwartz says XRP could eventually overtake Bitcoin in market value. Speaking during an X Spaces hosted by NFT creator ILLY, Schwartz said XRP would not need Bitcoin to crash for this to happen. Instead, he sees XRP growing much faster as crypto adoption and use of the XRP Ledger expand.
But can XRP really flip Bitcoin?
When asked whether do you believe that XRP could actually flip Bitcoin, Schwartz gave a direct answer: “Yeah, I do.”
But he quickly explained why. Schwartz said,
“It wouldn’t happen from Bitcoin shrinking. It would happen from XRP growing faster than Bitcoin.”
His view is based on a scenario where the entire digital asset market becomes much larger. Most of them will likely continue to grow. Some may disappear, but the major ones could grow significantly over time.
In that environment, Schwartz believes XRP could capture a bigger share because of the XRP Ledger’s speed and functionality.
Schwartz said XRP’s long term growth will depend on how much the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is used. More real-world use cases and new integrations could increase demand for XRP.
The XRPL has also received several technical upgrades. These include security checks for protocol-level permission features and node improvements that help prevent ledger issues.
Another advantage is that the XRPL handles many financial functions directly through its built-in rules. This reduces the risks that can come with external smart contracts. As a result, the network could become more useful for large financial and business applications.
Another reason is the growing demand for XRP through institutional interest. U.S. spot XRP ETFs have attracted around $1.70 billion in cumulative inflows.
Major financial firms, including Goldman Sachs, have also appeared among disclosed institutional XRP holders.
Schwartz sees XRP flipping Bitcoin as a long-term possibility, but the numbers show how difficult that would be today.
XRP has flipped Ethereum before. During the 2017–2018 bull run, XRP briefly became the second-largest cryptocurrency, reaching an $86 billion market cap and closing the gap with Bitcoin.
Today, the gap is much larger. As of now, XRP is trading around $1.38 with an $86.32 billion market cap, while Bitcoin sits around $77,887 with a $1.56 trillion market cap.
For XRP to overtake Bitcoin at these levels, it would need to close a $1.49 trillion market cap gap. If Bitcoin’s market cap stays unchanged, XRP would need to rise about 18x to roughly $25 per token.
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