XRP Market Cap Hurdle to Overtake Bitcoin Remains Steep
XRP (XRP)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Cryptopotato.com reports that former Ripple CTO David Schwartz believes XRP could surpass Bitcoin in market capitalization, provided specific conditions are met. Schwartz argues this flippening would not result from a Bitcoin collapse but rather from broader market success and XRP’s superior growth rate. Currently, Bitcoin’s market cap sits at approximately $1.55 trillion, while XRP’s is around $87 billion, making the leader roughly 18 times larger.
For XRP to match Bitcoin’s valuation without Bitcoin’s price changing, its token price would need to surge to between $24 and $25 from its current $1.40 level. Schwartz notes that Bitcoin will likely continue appreciating as the total crypto market expands, making the target even more difficult to reach. Historically, XRP came closer to Bitcoin’s valuation in early 2018 when its market cap reached $120 billion against Bitcoin’s $250-$260 billion.
At that time, XRP was worth nearly 50% of Bitcoin’s value, a ratio that has since shrunk to just 5%-6%. This historical context highlights the magnitude of the challenge XRP faces in reclaiming that relative dominance.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for XRP, measured when this story was written up on 13 September 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Whalio’s spot data shows XRP trading at $1.37 with a 24-hour buy ratio of 47.4%, indicating a slight preference for sellers over the full day. Shorter timeframes reveal even weaker buying pressure, with the 1-hour buy ratio at 44.0% and the 4-hour ratio at 45.7%. Volume delta confirms this selling bias, showing net outflows of -$275,956 in the last hour and -$1,236,757 over four hours. The cumulative volume delta for the 24-hour period stands at -$6,647,009, reflecting consistent selling pressure throughout the day. Only six out of twenty-four hours saw net buying, suggesting that buyers are struggling to maintain momentum against persistent sell-side volume.
The latest daily buy ratio of 50.6% sits at the 83rd percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 48.5% - stronger buying than most days.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for XRP, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the average buy ratio was 50.0%, meaning today’s 24-hour ratio of 47.4% is 2.6 percentage points below the weekly norm. This indicates that selling pressure is currently heavier than usual for this asset. Trading volume has also contracted significantly, sitting at just 0.39 times the weekly average. While the weekly volume delta showed a total net outflow of -$1,098,024, today’s hourly outflows suggest that selling intensity has accelerated relative to the broader weekly trend. This combination of below-average buying ratios and reduced volume points to a day of unusual caution compared to the previous week's activity.