Dom Kwok, a former Goldman Sachs analyst and co-founder of Easy, has shared an optimistic outlook, noting there is a “high chance” that XRP could soon surpass Ethereum to become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
This prediction comes on the heels of XRP’s impressive performance since November 2024, when the broader crypto market rallied following the U.S. presidential election. Last week, the crypto asset surged to $3.39, marking its highest price since 2018. Despite subsequent consolidation, XRP has maintained strong momentum, outperforming much of the market.
Last weekend, XRP surged over 10%, leaving most top 10 cryptocurrencies behind. Notably, this surge propelled the XRP/ETH pair, a metric tracking XRP’s performance relative to Ethereum, to a 50-month high of 0.0007883. By early this week, the pair climbed even further, reaching 0.0008820, igniting renewed discussions about XRP’s potential to outpace Ethereum.
Meanwhile, in a tweet on Wednesday, Kwok expressed the possibility of a significant shift in the crypto rankings, stating, “High chance that XRP flips ETH very soon. Are you ready for a new world order?” His confidence stems from the rapid expansion of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem, fueled by the anticipated surge of capital through tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
XRP boasts a market cap of $161.2 billion, a $7.4 billion increase following its recent rally. The asset trades at $3.01, reflecting an impressive 53% gain since the beginning of 2025. In contrast, Ethereum’s market cap stands at $370 billion, with the cryptocurrency posting a modest 7.8% drop since the year began. That said, for XRP to surpass Ethereum, it would need to reach a price of $6.83, assuming Ethereum’s market cap remains static. This translates to a required price increase of 115.5%.
Although such a leap may appear ambitious, market analysts, including EGRAG Crypto, have suggested it is within reach. Recently, the pundit predicted that XRP could surge to $7.5 once it breaks through key resistance levels, calling this price point the “Genuine Wake-Up Line.”
Earlier last month, analysts from Sistine Research weighed in on XRP’s potential, noting that such a move is “much closer than you think.” According to the analysts, with the asset currently trading around $2.45 on January 4, it could surpass Ethereum at approximately $4.36 and Bitcoin near $21, based on their analysis of current prices.
Elsewhere, Antony Welfare, CEO of digital asset solutions firm EnterpriseGoCapital, acknowledged that while some predict XRP could surpass Ethereum’s market cap, it would require a 250% increase to surpass Ethereum, assuming ETH stays stagnant.
“Is $XRP going to blow minds? Many are speculating that XRP could surpass Ethereum’s market cap… but is it realistic?” he asked. “We’ve seen this scenario before. For example, on September 21, 2018, XRP was ranked Number 2 behind Bitcoin, following a 62% 24-hour surge. Fast forward to today, and for XRP to top Ethereum, it would need a 250% pump—assuming Ethereum doesn’t move.”
That said, the bullish sentiment surrounding XRP reflects growing confidence in its ecosystem and potential utility in transforming global finance. However, skeptics argue that Ethereum’s dominance in smart contracts and decentralized applications will be hard to overcome.