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One asset class that has garnered quite a bit of enthusiasm from investors this year is cryptocurrency. Similar to how much of the artificial intelligence (AI) movement can be traced back to a select group of winners (the "Magnificent Seven"), investors appear to be applying the same template to cryptocurrency.

Two of the most popular cryptocurrencies right now are Bitcoin and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP). As of this writing (July 28), Bitcoin's price of roughly $120,000 is hovering near all-time highs. Meanwhile, at only $3, XRP appears much more modest.

Let's explore what makes Bitcoin and XRP unique to help get a sense of the catalysts that are fueling their current price action. In the long run, could XRP emerge as the "next Bitcoin"? Read on to find out.

XRP could disrupt digital commerce as we know it, but...
More than 11,000 businesses and governments use the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network as an intermediary to handle financial transactions. While SWIFT has major inroads in the global payments infrastructure, some would argue that it's an antiquated system. Often, settlement can take days, as various banks are usually involved in these transactions. As a result, transaction fees begin to accumulate for businesses.Ripple offers a compelling alternative payments network for cross-border transactions. The Ripple network allows transactions to settle within seconds, and at a much lower cost compared to SWIFT.

One of the interesting advantages of Ripple is that its customers can use XRP as a bridge currency. Ripple's partner banks in various countries make the conversions to and from this cryptocurrency fast and seamless. This function removes the friction of dealing with banks using various currencies, and can soften the toll of foreign exchange fees.According to data compiled by FXCintelligence, the total addressable market for cross-border transactions is expected to reach $320 trillion by 2032 -- up from $195 trillion in 2024.

Since XRP brings much-needed modern innovation to the payments infrastructure space, investors may see it as a potentially lucrative investment opportunity in the same light as Bitcoin. Let's explore how accurate that comparison really is.Should you invest $1,000 in XRP right now?
Before you buy stock in XRP, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and XRP wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $630,291!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,075,791!*Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,039% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
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