XRP Surges 925% Against Ether, Nears Five-Year High
1min read XRP (XRP) has seen a significant surge in its price relative to Ether (ETH), reaching a five-year high over the weekend. On March 15, the XRP/ETH pair hit 0.00128 ETH, a level not seen since April 2020. This marks a 925% rebound from its all-time low of 0.00013 ETH in June 2024 and approximately 620% gains since November 2024, following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
The rally in XRP/ETH has sparked speculation among market observers that XRP could potentially overtake Ether to become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Analyst Dom highlights 0.0012 ETH as a historically significant resistance level, which has preceded explosive rallies in past cycles. XRP has shown parabolic growth after breaking this resistance, delivering gains of at least 160% in previous instances. As of March 16, XRP was once again testing this critical level. If history repeats itself, even a partial rally of 80% would be sufficient for XRP to flip ETH in market capitalization, especially as Ether’s price faces potential downside risks in 2025.
XRP’s market capitalization stands at $138 billion, just under $100 billion short of Ethereum’s. Additionally, XRP’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) briefly surpassed Ethereum’s earlier this week. FDV represents the total theoretical value of all tokens, including those not yet in circulation, whereas market capitalization only accounts for tokens currently in circulation.
XRP’s market dominance has grown by over 300% since Trump’s reelection on Nov. 5. During the same period, Ethereum has lost over 35.50% of its market share, indicating a lack of interest among traders for Ether compared to other top-ranking crypto assets. A key factor in this divergence is regulatory sentiment. Trump has positioned the US as the future "world’s crypto capital,” appointing pro-crypto regulators and pledging to foster a more favorable environment. This shift has particularly benefited XRP, which caters to enterprise users, especially as Ripple unveiled an institutional DeFi roadmap in February.
Meanwhile, Ethereum has faced increasing competition from rival layer-1 blockchains, particularly Solana (SOL). The Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which reduced Ethereum’s transaction fees by 95%, aimed to improve scalability. However, it has also decreased ETH burn rates, increasing supply and weakening its deflationary appeal and “ultrasound money” narrative. Solana’s dominance has risen, with its trading volume now rivaling Ethereum and all its layer-2 chains combined. The network’s faster and cheaper transactions have made it the go-to platform for DeFi activity, memecoin trading, and nft markets, which Ethereum previously dominated. This shift has eroded Ethereum’s market share, particularly among traders and developers seeking high-speed, low-cost transactions.
Ask Aime: Will XRP surpass Ether in market capitalization?
