One prominent market commentator insisted that $XRP
It actually represents a threat to #Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency market.
This bold suggestion came from Charles Shrem, a prominent crypto YouTuber and market analyst behind the cryptocurrency account Block,,chain Bac,ker, who has expressed his bullish stance on $XRP over the years. Notably, his recent comment comes at a time when XRP is still struggling to keep up with Bitcoin's recent bullish trend.
Bitcoin outperforms XRP this year
In context, after #XRP rose by 222% against Bitcoin from November 2024 to January 2025, it experienced a massive collapse from February 2025. Notably, since February, XRP has declined over 39% against Bitcoin. This is due to the fact that while BTC has reached new all-time highs since February, XRP has mostly stabilized around $2.
Despite this prevailing pattern, market commentators like Shrem believe that $XRP has the potential to threaten Bitcoin's dominance. In his recent comment, he highlighted directly for the first time that XRP poses a threat to Bitcoin, clarifying his stance to the public.
Does XRP pose a threat to Bitcoin?
It is worth noting that while Shrem has hinted at this position in the past, this is the first time he boldly states it directly. For instance, after the executive order issued by Donald Trump in January 2025 to explore creating a 'stockpile of digital assets', Shrem suggested that Bitcoin users see XRP as a threat.
Specifically, Trump ordered his team to explore the appropriate way to create a 'stockpile of digital assets' instead of a 'Bitcoin reserve'. While this raised concerns among Bitcoin supporters, most directed their frustration towards XRP, claiming that Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, had called for XRP to be included.
This animosity continued despite the executive order not mentioning XRP. In response, Shrem suggested that the reason Bitcoin extremists directed their anger towards XRP is due to their feeling threatened by XRP.
The funny thing is... XRP was never mentioned in the executive order. But Bitcoin supporters have always known it poses a threat to the crown.
This is why the attack began. They know.
The ongoing criticisms from the Bitcoin community ultimately led to a full-blown clash with the XRP community. In the midst of this clash, Shrem noted in a later comment that Bitcoin supporters were indirectly declaring XRP as a threat to dethrone Bitcoin. It is unclear whether Shrem was referring to their own market positions or something entirely different.
XRP price if it surpasses Bitcoin's market cap
However, despite ongoing suggestions, XRP is still far from regaining the second spot from Ethereum (ETH), let alone dethroning Bitcoin in market cap.
In context, XRP is currently trading at $2.09, with a market cap of $123.7 billion. To surpass Ethereum's valuation of $295.3 billion, XRP would need to rise by 139% to a price of $5 per token.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is currently priced at $107,000, with a market cap of $2.125 trillion, making it the largest crypto asset in the market. For XRP to outperform BTC in this current situation, its price must rise by 1622% to $36. Interestingly, analyst Da,rk Def,ender predicted last October that XRP would reach $36.