Ripple price has recently reached a seven-year high, and the excitement in the XRP community is growing louder. As this bull market heats up, some investors are starting to wonder if XRP could ever rise high enough to catch up with Bitcoin. A post by @SMQKE on X, shared by TheCryptoBasic, has revived this debate. The post refers to a document from the well-known asset manager WisdomTree, which explores what it would take for XRP to match Bitcoin’s massive market cap.
Right now, XRP is trading at $3.66, and its market cap is at a peak of $216 billion, placing it firmly as the third-largest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. Meanwhile, Bitcoin still holds a commanding lead with a market cap of over $2.3 trillion. That’s a gap of more than $2 trillion. Still, the momentum around XRP has led to increased speculation. Could Ripple price really surge enough to challenge Bitcoin? That’s what WisdomTree tried to unpack.
WisdomTree Sees XRP as a Long-Term Strategy Asset
In its report, WisdomTree made it clear that it doesn’t view XRP as just another altcoin. Instead, it classifies XRP as a core component in the long-term crypto strategy it envisions, particularly when paired with Bitcoin. While many other tokens are known for hype or short-term trends, XRP stands out for its utility, speed, energy efficiency, and low correlation with the two largest cryptos.
WisdomTree groups XRP and Bitcoin into a “Layer-1 payments” category. This alone puts XRP in a different class than other altcoins. Moreover, XRP’s capped supply and deflationary token model make it attractive to institutions looking for long-term value. According to TheCryptoBasic, the report also reveals that WisdomTree is among those filing to list XRP ETFs, which signals growing confidence in Ripple’s long-term outlook.
What a 20X XRP Price Surge Would Mean
The most attention-grabbing detail from WisdomTree’s research is the idea that XRP would need to rise by about 20X to match Bitcoin’s market cap. That calculation was based on October 2024 figures, when XRP was still trading under $0.60 and Bitcoin was hovering around $59,000 to $70,000. If XRP had surged by 20X from that price range, it would have hit around $10 to $12 per coin. However, even then, it wouldn’t fully match Bitcoin’s trillion-dollar cap unless all 100 billion tokens were in circulation.
But today, the situation looks different. With XRP now at $3.66 and a circulating supply of 59 billion tokens, a 20X surge would push its price above $73. That would give Ripple a market cap of about $4.26 trillion, more than enough to leapfrog Bitcoin’s current cap of $2.4 trillion. On the other hand, for XRP to simply match Bitcoin’s current cap, the price would only need to rise to around $40. That’s an 11X move from where XRP is now.
Analysts Say the Numbers May Be Reachable
Analyst SMQKE and others believe this level could actually be reachable within the current cycle, especially if institutional interest continues to grow. However, it’s not that simple. If Bitcoin’s price rises even further, the target for Ripple will move again. That means XRP would need an even larger surge just to catch up.
Unlike many cryptocurrencies, Ripple has built a reputation for real-world use. Its payment network is used by financial institutions globally, and the XRP token plays a key role in settlement processes. XRP’s energy-efficient model also makes it more appealing in a world where green concerns are becoming more important to investors.
WisdomTree’s emphasis on XRP’s utility, rather than speculation, shows a shift in how large firms are starting to view the token. If ETFs tied to XRP do go live, that could invite significant institutional capital, similar to what happened with Bitcoin in the past.
What Would Need to Happen for XRP to Flip Bitcoin
At the heart of this debate is a simple but massive challenge: price. From today’s Ripple price of $3.66, getting to $40 would require an 11X increase. To move past Bitcoin and hit $73, XRP would need to surge by more than 20X. While the current market sentiment is strong, that kind of growth would likely depend on a combination of major institutional adoption, ETF listings, and perhaps even wider global usage of the Ripple network in banking and finance.
Analysts like SMQKE believe this isn’t just a dream scenario. It’s possible, though it would take the perfect storm of events. At the same time, Bitcoin is not standing still. If BTC continues to grow, the gap between the two could remain out of reach for XRP.
Read Also: Why Holding 1,000 XRP Can Be Life-Changing, According to Analyst
Ripple overtaking Bitcoin is still a long shot. But the fact that it is even being seriously discussed by names like WisdomTree and researchers like SMQKE says a lot about XRP’s progress. The gap between XRP and Bitcoin remains wide, but it’s no longer unthinkable that Ripple price could rise far higher than it ever has before.
Whether or not XRP actually flips BTC, its growing role in payment systems, institutional portfolios, and ETF filings makes it one of the most watched altcoins in the space. And if it does keep climbing at this pace, the idea of Ripple challenging Bitcoin might not sound so far-fetched after all.
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