David Schwartz, a prominent figure at Ripple, has shared insights on an intriguing possibility in the $XRP community: the potential for $XRP to surpass Bitcoin in market capitalization.
In a recent discussion on X’s “Spaces,” Schwartz suggested that a scenario where $XRP overtakes Bitcoin is feasible, but he emphasized a critical condition regarding his forecast.
According to Schwartz, the former Chief Technology Officer at Ripple and architect of the $XRP Ledger, such an event is more likely to occur through a rise in $XRP rather than a decline in Bitcoin’s value.
$XRP could seize a significant portion of this growth owing to its advantages like faster transaction speeds and enhanced capabilities compared to Bitcoin.
From the beginning, the $XRP Ledger was intended as a quicker and more efficient alternative for payment transactions compared to Bitcoin.
Shifting Perspectives
Earlier this year, Schwartz reflected on how improbable a rise to $0.25 seemed when $XRP was valued at around $0.006.
He noted that he sold some $XRP when its price reached $0.10, as that seemed exceedingly high at the time.
Schwartz also made a comparison to Bitcoin, recalling that a price of $100 for $BTC once appeared fantastical.
However, he pointed out a significant flaw in such comparisons: $XRP currently has a market value that is substantially larger than Bitcoin’s was when $BTC first surpassed the $100 mark.
$XRP Came Close to Bitcoin Before
Historical trends show that $XRP has previously made significant gains against Bitcoin.
During the remarkable cryptocurrency boom of late 2017 and early 2018, $XRP climbed to second place, becoming Bitcoin’s closest competitor.
In fact, $XRP has exceeded Ethereum’s market cap before, notably in late December 2017.
At that time, $XRP‘s market cap rose to about $86 billion, significantly outpacing Ethereum’s $73 billion, positioning $XRP as the second-largest cryptocurrency worldwide. $XRP maintained its lead until the year’s end.
Currently, with a price of $1.42, $XRP has a market capitalization around $89.1 billion, ranking it as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency.
On the other hand, Bitcoin trades at approximately $78,693, boasting a market cap of about $1.58 trillion.
This indicates that Bitcoin’s current value is around 17.7 times greater than that of $XRP in terms of market capitalization.