The cryptocurrency community has sustained the "XRP vs Ethereum" conversation, with some pundits assessing the price and timeline for XRP to beat ETH. While Bitcoin (BTC) has always maintained the top spot among the largest crypto assets, the second position has been more susceptible to change over the years. Notably, XRP and Ethereum (ETH) battled for this position for years, leading to the persistent "XRP vs Ethereum" debate.
The XRP vs Ethereum Debate
Following the 2018 bull run, Ethereum maintained its dominance as the second-largest crypto asset, as XRP saw a rapid price crash after January of that year. The U.S. SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020 further exacerbated XRP’s price situation, giving Ethereum an edge in the race.
For context, after the lawsuit, XRP fell further, relinquishing the third position and even battling to retain the top 5. These struggles persisted as XRP continued to range between $0.4 and $0.6 for over seven years despite occasional swings.
Nonetheless, things took a turn for the better in November 2024, when XRP broke above the range on the back of the U.S. elections, soaring to a peak of $3.4 by Jan. 16, 2025. With this, XRP recovered its third spot, again rejuvenating the XRP vs Ethereum discussion.
However, it wasn’t until April that XRP really challenged Ethereum for the second spot. Specifically, while Ethereum’s market cap slumped to $174 billion on April 8, XRP had a valuation of around $104 billion, with only $70 billion between both assets. At that point, a mere 67% rise in XRP’s price would have allowed it to displace ETH.
Price and Timeline for XRP to Surpass ETH
Today, Ethereum has recovered considerably from that low, while XRP has not seen a comparable rebound. As a result, ETH now has a market cap of $472 billion, with XRP only boasting $145 billion in valuation. As a result, there is a whopping $327 billion worth of valuation between them. XRP has also dropped to the fifth position among the largest assets.
At the current position, XRP changes hands at $2.41, while ETH trades for $3,930. From here, XRP would need a greater rally to surpass Ethereum’s valuation. With a circulating supply of around 60 billion tokens, XRP’s price must rise to $7.9 for the altcoin to soar past Ethereum’s valuation of $472 billion. Essentially, a 231% rally to $8 should do the trick.
Interestingly, several analysts have already projected a possible XRP run to $8. For instance, earlier in the year, analyst Dark Defender predicted that XRP’s fifth Elliott Wave could push prices to $8. In May, market commentator Xena suggested that while XRP could reach $8 this year, such a price should not excite investors, as it is capable of doing much more.
However, for XRP to overtake ETH when it claims $8, Ethereum would need to remain stagnant at $3,930, which is highly improbable. This is why it is challenging to predict the price at which XRP could surpass Ethereum.
Pundit Alex Cobb predicted that this could happen in September 2025, but the projection failed to materialize. Meanwhile, Coach JV already believes XRP would overtake both Ethereum and Bitcoin to become the largest crypto asset by market cap by 2030.