XRP would need to rally by less than 200% from its current position to flip Ethereum and secure the second spot among the largest crypto assets.
The crypto community has recently witnessed XRP’s growth potential, with the altcoin flipping the narrative as the worst performer to become the biggest gainer over the past month.
Amid the upsurge, XRP surpassed its 2021 peak of $1.96 on Dec. 1, 2024, and recovered the $2 price mark on the same day. This allowed the asset to reach seven-year highs and reclaim the $100 billion market cap. Shortly after, it hit a new all-time high market cap.
How High XRP Needs to Rise to Flip Ethereum Again
Recall that XRP was trading at the second spot by market capitalization during late 2017 and early 2018 before the SEC lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020. At that time, XRP was the second most valuable crypto, only behind Bitcoin.
XRP briefly held the second spot in January 2018. On January 7, 2018, XRP reached an all-time high of $3.40 during the peak of the 2017-2018 crypto bull market. At its peak, XRP’s market cap was approximately $130 billion.
In December 2024, as XRP’s market cap reached unprecedented highs and made a new ATH at around $160 billion, XRP overtook Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL), and Tether (USDT) to become the third largest crypto asset.
Currently, with a valuation of $156.8 billion and a price of $2.75, XRP is set to challenge Ethereum (ETH) for the second spot again.
Notably, XRP needed to surpass the $2 mark to be able to replace USDT as the third-largest crypto asset. The altcoin must reach much higher price levels to surpass Ethereum. However, XRP is capable of reaching these price levels with a rally of less than 200% from here.
Currently, Ethereum boasts a market cap of $439.6 billion. To surpass the altcoin king, XRP would need to reach a valuation of at least $440 billion. With its current circulating supply of 57.051 billion tokens, the token must rally to $7.71 per coin to claim the $440 billion market cap.
At its current price of $2.75, if XRP replicates its November rally, it can capture this price. For context, XRP closed last month with a massive 283% rally. Meanwhile, it would only need to increase by 180% from its current position to reach the $7.71 level.
Can XRP Surpass the $7 Price
Previously, some market analysts insisted that XRP was following its 2017/2018 trajectory, which saw it rally by nearly 60,000% to reach an all-time high of $3.31 in January 2018. Interestingly, the 2017/2018 rally began with a 284% increase in March 2017.
XRP then secured another 143% gain in April 2017 and an additional 374% rise in the following month. Now, the asset has already recorded a 283% increase in November 2024. If it replicates even half of the uptrend that followed in 2017, it could easily reach $7 and surpass Ethereum.
However, it is important to note that this assessment assumes ETH itself remains relatively stagnant. Should Ethereum also witness an exponential price increase within this period, XRP would need to surge higher than the $7 target to surpass it.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.