David Schwartz, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer Emeritus, said during an X Spaces discussion that he believes XRP could eventually overtake bitcoin by market capitalization. The comment represented a personal view rather than an official company forecast and included no valuation target or timeframe.
Schwartz, an original architect of the XRP Ledger who stepped back from day-to-day duties at Ripple at the end of 2025, answered affirmatively when asked if he thought XRP could flip bitcoin. "Yeah, I do. I think it would happen from XRP growing faster than Bitcoin," he said.
He characterized such a scenario as likely emerging within a broader expansion of the cryptocurrency market rather than one asset replacing another. "The world where digital assets are just wildly successful. They all probably grow," Schwartz added.
The Mathematics
Bitcoin's current market capitalization stands near $1.55 trillion, with BTC trading around $77,269. XRP currently trades at $1.34, giving it a market value of roughly $85 billion—approximately 18 times smaller than bitcoin's.
For XRP to match bitcoin's present market cap, the token would need to reach approximately $24.70, based on XRP's circulating supply of 62.88 billion tokens.
Clarifying Misinformation
Posts circulated claiming Schwartz had confirmed a multi-trillion-dollar target for XRP's total market capitalization in the mid-to-long term. These claims were later identified as false.
Upcoming Developments
Two significant events are scheduled for the Ripple ecosystem and broader digital asset landscape:
- The XRPL fixCleanup3_3_0 amendment has reached 82.6% validator support, with activation due as early as September 11. The amendment's scope does not include activation of the Lending Protocol, Single Asset Vaults, batch transactions, or confidential transfers.
- The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on cloture for H.R. 3633 on September 15, a procedural step determining whether to proceed with the bill regarding digital asset market structure.
