The year 2025 witnessed a resurgence in the cryptocurrency market. Among them, Bitcoin and XRP are the two names attracting the most attention from global investors. While Bitcoin continues to hold the 'king' position with a price near its historical peak of about 120,000 USD (as of July 28), XRP – with a price of only about 3 USD – raises many questions: Could this be the 'next Bitcoin'? To answer, we need to understand the nature and growth dynamics of each currency.

1. Bitcoin – 'Digital Gold' and the story of scarcity.

Bitcoin was created in 2009 with the goal of becoming a decentralized payment system, independent of banks or intermediaries. After more than a decade, Bitcoin has been recognized by the market as a store of value asset – similar to gold.

The key point that creates the value of Bitcoin is its limited supply: only 21 million BTC will be mined worldwide. When an asset is both limited and has increasing demand, the scarcity mindset will drive its value up over time. This is why Bitcoin is referred to as 'digital gold'.

In 2025, Bitcoin increased in value by about 29% – three times the increase of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes. The reasons stem from several key factors:

  • Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been approved and quickly incorporated into the portfolios of major institutions like BlackRock and Ark Invest.

  • Listed companies are starting to hold Bitcoin as part of their reserve assets.

  • The legal environment is improving with laws like the Genius Act and the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, providing confidence for investors.

2. XRP – Ambition to change the international payment industry.

If Bitcoin positions itself as 'digital gold', then XRP – the currency associated with Ripple – targets a completely different market: cross-border payments.

Currently, the SWIFT system dominates international transactions, connecting over 11,000 banks and financial institutions. However, SWIFT often takes several days to complete transactions and the transfer fees are quite high.

Ripple offers a new solution:

  • Transaction time: just a few seconds.

  • Cost: much cheaper than SWIFT.

  • XRP as a 'bridge': helps to quickly convert between currencies, reducing costs and exchange rate risks.

According to FXCintelligence, the size of the cross-border payment market is expected to reach 320 trillion USD by 2032, a significant increase from 195 trillion USD in 2024. This is the huge 'pie' that Ripple wants to dominate.

3. Why XRP has not yet become the next Bitcoin.

Although XRP has great potential, becoming the 'next Bitcoin' is a different story. There are three main reasons:

There is no strong scarcity mindset.

  • XRP has a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens, nearly 5,000 times that of Bitcoin.

  • Ripple holds a large amount of XRP, reducing decentralization.

Legal influence

  • Ripple has been involved in a major lawsuit with the SEC. Although it has been somewhat resolved, this legal 'scar' still makes many investors cautious.

It is uncertain whether XRP will be widely used.

  • Ripple can be used by banks for payments without needing to use XRP as a bridge.

  • Competition from SWIFT and other blockchain payment solutions is very fierce.

4. Current Valuation and Prospects.

At a price of about 3 USD, XRP seems 'cheaper' than Bitcoin. However, with a market capitalization of nearly 200 billion USD, XRP is actually valued similarly to or higher than many of the world's leading fintech companies. This means:

  • A large part of the potential has already been reflected in the price.

  • For XRP to experience explosive growth, widespread acceptance from the global financial system is needed – which is not easy.

Conclusion

  • Bitcoin: Continues to be the leading store of value asset, benefiting from scarcity mindset and global recognition.

  • XRP: Has great opportunities in the international payment sector, but must overcome legal barriers, competition, and convince the market of the necessity of XRP.

Therefore, XRP is unlikely to become the 'next Bitcoin'. However, if Ripple succeeds in changing the way the world makes cross-border payments, the value of XRP could still rise significantly – but in a different path than Bitcoin.