XRP Could One Day Steal Bitcoin’s Crown, Says Ex-Ripple CTO Schwartz — But There’s a Major Caveat

Could XRP one day dethrone Bitcoin? Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz has entertained the possibility, fueling one of the community’s boldest long-term bets.

Speaking on X Spaces, Schwartz suggested XRP could surge sooner if the XRP Ledger continues gaining traction and adoption. However, he pointed to one major catch that could determine whether the bullish scenario actually plays out.

Schwartz Sees XRP Dethroning Bitcoin

During the X Spaces discussion, Schwartz was asked whether he believes XRP could eventually overtake Bitcoin. He acknowledged the possibility, but clarified that it wouldn’t necessarily happen because of a decline in Bitcoin’s value.

“I think it wouldn’t happen from Bitcoin shrinking. It would happen from XRP growing faster than Bitcoin,” Schwartz explained.

He expects the digital asset market to expand significantly in the years ahead, creating a scenario where major cryptocurrencies could all rise in value instead of competing for market share.

According to Schwartz, the XRP Ledger could emerge as a major beneficiary of crypto’s future growth, citing its speed and broader functionality as key advantages over Bitcoin.

“The XRP Ledger gets more of that growth because of its higher functionality and/or higher speed,” he said. Schwartz added that users could gravitate toward features “that Bitcoin can’t support.”

He went even further, expressing strong confidence in XRP’s potential upside. “I honestly have to say, I think XRP surging is probably more likely than not,” Schwartz opined. 

XRP Once Surpassed Ethereum — Could BTC Be Next?

Ripple-linked XRP has already shown that it can challenge the biggest names in crypto. During the explosive rally of late 2017 and early 2018, the token rocketed into second place by market capitalization, emerging as Bitcoin’s closest major rival.

That period also saw XRP pull off one of its most remarkable market-cap breakthroughs. In late December 2017, XRP’s market capitalization climbed to roughly $87 billion, pushing it past Ethereum’s approximately $72 billion valuation and briefly making XRP the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. The token remained ahead of Ethereum as the year ended.

The gap with Bitcoin, however, remains dramatically wider today. XRP currently trades at around $1.36, giving it a market capitalization of approximately $85.65 billion. Bitcoin, meanwhile, trades near $77,374, with a market capitalization of roughly $1.55 trillion, as per CoinGecko data.

At these levels, BTC’s market capitalization is about 18.1 times larger than that of XRP. While XRP still faces a massive gap, its history shows that the token has previously made extraordinary leaps up the crypto market-cap rankings.