ITC CEO Shows Gold Has Been a Better Investment Than XRP Since 2018, But Here are the Facts

The CEO of Into The Cryptoverse indicated that gold has been a better investment than XRP since 2018, but a broader assessment paints a different picture.

Notably, the evaluation came up as Peter Schiff, a well-known gold advocate and chief economist at Europac, reignited the discussion around gold and Bitcoin, as he and Bitcoin proponents continue to debate which is a better asset.

Bitcoin vs Gold Comparison

In his latest commentary, Schiff argued that anyone comparing the two does not understand gold. This statement led to a response from Into The Cryptoverse CEO, Benjamin Cowen, who highlighted Bitcoin’s growth compared to gold since Bitcoin’s launch 16 years ago.

100% agree!!!

Bitcoin has gone from $0 to $100k over the last 16 years while gold went from $2k to $3k

We are finding common ground after all this time 🤝

— Benjamin Cowen (@intocryptoverse) February 18, 2025

Cowen stressed that while Bitcoin surged from zero to $100,000 between 2009 and 2015, gold only moved from $2,000 to $3,000. His comments aimed to highlight Bitcoin’s superior returns, but they also sparked reactions from other crypto proponents, including an anonymous XRP enthusiast. 

Interestingly, the XRP proponent countered Cowen’s claims by arguing that Bitcoin’s high volatility and repeated crashes prevent it from being a reliable store of value. 

They also pointed out that gold, the U.S. dollar, and the euro hold Tier 1 asset classification by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), whereas Bitcoin does not. Further, the XRP enthusiast claimed that in the coming years, XRP and gold would gain more recognition.

Gold Has Outperformed XRP Since 2018

In response, Cowen highlighted that XRP had lost 45% of its value against gold over the past seven years. This statement suggested that gold outperformed XRP within this timeframe, with Cowen humorously noting that even gold has been a better investment than XRP since 2018.

XRP is down 45% against GOLD over the last 7 years.

So even Gold was a better investment than XRP since 2018 😂 pic.twitter.com/06r6DkmINg

— Benjamin Cowen (@intocryptoverse) February 18, 2025

However, in a more interesting twist, the reality is even more discouraging for XRP. Cowen’s assessment took into account XRP’s market capitalization relative to gold, which is not the most accurate way to measure price performance, as its increasing circulating supply also contributes to higher market caps.

When evaluating XRP’s actual price performance against gold, the XRPXAU trading pair tells a more bearish story. In early 2018, XRP’s peak value against gold stood at 0.00250. Today, it trades at around 0.00086, showing a more substantial 65% decline in value over the past seven years. 

XRP Up 19,313% Against Gold Since Launch

However, Cowen’s evaluation does not fairly assess XRP’s performance, as it considered a time when XRP reached its peak. Looking at a broader scope, since its launch in August 2013, XRP has significantly outperformed gold. 

At the time when XRP started trading in the open market, the XRPXAU pair stood at 0.000004430. By today’s value of 0.00086, XRP has surged by over 19,313%, proving that it has been a superior store of value over the long term.

Bitcoin, however, has seen even greater growth. The BTCXAU trading pair has skyrocketed by 43,743% within the same period. This indicates that while XRP outperformed gold over the past decade, Bitcoin outshined both assets by a much larger margin.

Meanwhile, some XRP enthusiasts attribute XRP’s underperformance since 2018 to regulatory challenges. The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, which began in December 2020, led to widespread delistings from major exchanges in the U.S. and Canada. 

As a result, XRP missed out on the 2021 crypto bull run. Now, with regulatory clarity improving, XRP has begun recovering from years of price suppression. Despite nearly reclaiming its previous highs, it still has a long way to go to make up for the lost years.