Can XRP Overthrow Bitcoin? Experts Weigh In

For weeks, XRP’s price performance has been at the center of attention on the crypto market. Hitting $2.50 at the start of December

As XRP continues to post staggering gains, reaching $2.50 at the start of December and notching an almost 400% increase since the U.S. election last month, a burning question has emerged among crypto enthusiasts: Can XRP eventually overthrow Bitcoin next?

While such growth may excite optimists, going too far could destabilize the market as it did then. Even a realistic upside scenario, such as a 1,000% increase, could lead to catastrophic corrections if the market fails to maintain balance.

After hitting $2.50 at the start of December, XRP has posted a staggering, almost 400%, gain since the U.S. election last month, climbing into a dominant position in the crypto market. Now valued at over $135 billion in market capitalization, XRP is the third-largest digital asset, trailing only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

This impressive performance has sparked speculation about whether XRP can continue to outpace the market leader and eventually claim the top spot in the cryptocurrency rankings.

However, a closer examination of XRP's fully diluted valuation (FDV) reveals some interesting insights. Currently pegged at $435 billion, XRP's FDV is already double that of Solana (SOL), which is ranked fifth with a market capitalization of $66 billion.

Furthermore, XRP's FDV is rapidly approaching that of Ethereum, which is currently valued at $560 billion. If XRP were to continue on its current trajectory, it could overtake Ethereum in terms of fully diluted valuation sometime next year.

DonAlt, a trader-expert known in the crypto space under the nickname, stood up to answer that question. Noting that XRP's fully diluted valuation is now double that of Solana and rapidly approaching Ethereum, DonAlt drew parallels to 2017, when XRP briefly overtook Bitcoin.

“Happened in 2017 for a brief moment, then the entire market nuked to zero.”

Adding another angle to the discussion, renowned trader Peter Brandt recently shared a more bullish perspective. According to Brandt, if XRP were to multiply tenfold from its current price of $24, it would reach a market capitalization of $1.37 trillion.

While this figure still trails Bitcoin's current market cap of $1.89 trillion, it puts XRP within close reach of challenging the market leader's dominance.

“If XRP were to multiply tenfold from here (as it did in 2022) to $24/each, it would reach a market capitalization of $1.37 trillion, putting Bitcoin (now at $1.89 trillion) in its sights.”