Former Ripple CTO Predicts XRP Could Surpass Bitcoin in Market Cap

XRP would need to reach a price in the high double-digit range—approximately 35 times its current level—to overtake Bitcoin’s market capitalization, according to calculations.

On May 15 (local time), blockchain media The Crypto Basic reported that former Ripple CTO David Schwartz believes XRP could eventually surpass Bitcoin, but only through significantly faster growth rather than a Bitcoin price collapse.

At the time of reporting, XRP traded around $1.40 with a market cap of approximately $88 billion, while Bitcoin was at $77,200 with a market cap of roughly $1.55 trillion—about 18 times larger than XRP’s.

Under an assumed scenario where Bitcoin’s market cap expands to $3 trillion, XRP would need to exceed $3.1 trillion in market cap, translating to about $49.40 per token based on a circulating supply of 62.74 billion. This represents roughly a 35-fold increase from the current price of around $1.38.

However, Schwartz clarified that $50 is not a fixed target. The required XRP price depends on Bitcoin’s market cap at the time of potential surpassing. If Bitcoin reaches a higher valuation, XRP would need an even larger market cap to overtake it.

Schwartz emphasized his view does not rely on mass migration from Bitcoin to XRP but rather on overall cryptocurrency market expansion, with XRP capturing a larger share of that growth due to features like the XRPL ledger, which offers functionality absent in Bitcoin.

Market analysts note this outlook hinges on high assumptions: XRP must maintain faster long-term growth than Bitcoin while the broader market expands. Schwartz did not specify when XRP might overtake Bitcoin or directly claim it would reach $50.