A claim has emerged that cryptocurrency XRP could surpass bitcoin in the global financial system.

On Feb. 20, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that rising uncertainty in the global foreign-exchange market is highlighting the need for on-chain settlement systems. It said Ripple and the XRP Ledger are drawing attention, and that institutional adoption of XRP could accelerate from 2026.

In 2025, Tradeship University founder Cameron Scrubbs (카메론 스크럽스) predicted XRP would become the No. 1 cryptocurrency by market capitalisation by 2030. Investor Pumpius (펌피우스), described as an early bitcoin investor, said central banks would use XRP as a bridge asset and stressed that this is becoming reality.

The XRP Ledger could serve as a neutral bridge linking major currencies such as the euro, the dollar and the yen. This could allow regulated liquidity to flow through XRP, on-chain decentralised exchanges to handle foreign-exchange matching, and a privacy-focused authentication system to strengthen security. If such a system is built, XRP could move beyond a purely speculative asset and establish itself as a core part of global payments infrastructure, the article said.

Still, whether XRP can surpass bitcoin remains uncertain. While bitcoin's market value stands at several trillion dollars, XRP remains at about $86 billion. With the possibility being raised that bitcoin could rise in the long term to $500,000 to $1 million, the outlet pointed out that XRP would need multi-trillion-dollar growth to catch up.

Optimistic XRP projections from analytics platforms also forecast a price of $23 to $48 by 2030, a level where bitcoin still holds a significant lead.