XRP Could Overtake Bitcoin Market Cap, But Only If It Surges

Ripple veteran David Schwartz has floated an idea that might seem ambitious to some: XRP could one day surpass Bitcoin's market capitalization. But, as he pointed out, such a scenario would be more likely due to XRP surging than because of Bitcoin collapsing.

Schwarz emphasized that XRP was designed from the outset as a faster and more scalable alternative to Bitcoin for payments. He cited characteristics like transaction speed and greater functionality as reasons why XRP could capture a disproportionate share of growth in the market.

Looking back, Schwartz recalled that even a rally to $0.25 seemed implausible when XRP was trading at roughly $0.006. By comparison, he noted that $100 BTC once seemed almost absurd. However, he pointed out that these comparisons have an important weakness: XRP's market capitalization today is vastly larger than Bitcoin's was when it first crossed $100.

Historically, there is precedent for XRP narrowing the gap with Bitcoin. During the 2017-2018 cryptocurrency rally, XRP surged into second place and briefly overtook Ethereum. Although currently behind by a significant margin, XRP has shown that it can challenge its larger rival.