XRP vs BTC: Can Ripple's Token Overtake Market Leader?
Ripple's veteran David Schwartz has sparked debate by suggesting that XRP could eventually overtake Bitcoin in market capitalization. However, he emphasized that such a development would require the right conditions and not come from BTC's deterioration.
To put this into perspective, we need to examine the current numbers. At present, Bitcoin's market cap is around $1.55 trillion, while XRP's is approximately $87 billion, making it roughly 18 times larger. For XRP to level the playing field, its market cap would need to reach $1.55 trillion as well.
This implies a significant surge in value for XRP, with its price potentially reaching $24-$25 from its current levels of around $1.40. However, Schwartz's scenario becomes even more challenging when considering that the entire crypto market could expand exponentially, causing BTC to appreciate further as well.
XRP has come close to BTC in the past, but failed to surpass it. In early 2018, XRP's market cap reached $120 billion, making it almost 50% as valuable as BTC at the time. Today, that ratio is down to 5-6%, highlighting the difficulty of XRP overtaking BTC.