Bitcoin (BTC-USD) remains the dominant force in the crypto market, with a market cap of about $1.82 trillion – far above any other major token. Take XRP (XRP-USD) as an example: despite ranking only a few spots below Bitcoin, its market cap stands at $133 billion, a fraction of Bitcoin’s size. At the same time, over the past 12 months, Bitcoin has shed 5% of its value while XRP is up 13%.
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So, would investors be better off backing the smaller coin showing momentum and offering more room for growth? Not according to top investor Anders Bylund.
“Buy Bitcoin, not XRP,” says the 5-star investor. “Moving your money from Bitcoin to XRP strikes me as a bad move these days.”
XRP, Byland explains, is not without its merits. Its area of focus is cross-border payments, and it has first-mover status in a large, essential, and promising sector. Even capturing a small fraction of the multitrillion-dollar international payments market could be a “wealth-building game changer” for early investors. Bitcoin, however, targets an even bigger market. It acts as a digital alternative to gold and, in some ways, traditional currencies. Barring a major setback, Bitcoin has strong potential to “multiply in value” many times over the long term.
At this stage, all cryptocurrencies remain highly volatile. Price swings and big drops have been common for both Bitcoin and XRP, as has been evident over the past month.
But the key point for Byland, who ranks among the top 2% of investors by TipRanks, is that XRP has been “wildly overvalued” since November 2024, when it went on a huge runup following Trump’s election win, and is now due a price correction vs. Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, the crypto space appears to be recovering from its recent sharp drop, but the near-term outlook remains clouded by macroeconomic factors such as tariffs, job data, and interest rate decisions. That, however, shouldn’t affect Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory. “Whatever Bitcoin does over the next year or two, the leading cryptocurrency should eventually get back on its proverbial feet and start exploring new all-time highs again,” Bylund opined. “It’s a genuinely useful monetary tool with many real-world applications, from wealth management to secure money transfers.”
On the other hand, XRP is still just a “tiny drop in an ocean of border-crossing payment options.” It will take Ripple – the company behind XRP – years to build the kind of real business traction needed to justify its current $134 billion market cap. For some perspective here, it should be noted that only 23 financial stocks in the U.S. boast larger market caps.
“I’ll take another look if XRP drops back below $1.00 per coin — a 54% drop from current prices,” Bylund summed up. “Until then, you should really consider cashing in some of your XRP gains to double down on Bitcoin instead.” (To watch Bylund’s track record, click here)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured investor. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.