Quote from: kotajikikox on July 31, 2025, 01:03:59 PM

Could XRP (Ripple) Be the Next Bitcoin?

I am sure upon seeing the title, you leapt out of your seat and got ready to disprove me. Well that is also my reaction upon seeing the title of this article. I then read the entire article and it gave reasons why xrp can be the next bitcoin.

The article starts by introducing the two indicating their current value: Two of the most popular cryptocurrencies right now are Bitcoin and XRP (XRP 1.95%). As of this writing (July 28), Bitcoin's price of roughly $120,000 is hovering near all-time highs. Meanwhile, at only $3, XRP appears much more modest.

Looking at the value already, we can say that these two are miles away from each other. But then the article continues to dive into what makes xrp so unique to be compared to bitcoin.... Ripple offers a compelling alternative payments network for cross-border transactions. The Ripple network allows transactions to settle within seconds, and at a much lower cost compared to SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network.

The article then compared the two's supply. Bitcoin has a limit of 21 million while xrp has 100 billion limit. It made me laugh how the article quite explicitly said this about xrp... the scarcity psychology seen with Bitcoin doesn't seem to be present.

I think that we can stop reading the article after this one sentence... Ripple holds a portion of the XRP supply, meaning the token itself is not fully decentralized like Bitcoin is.

I do not know if anyone ever thought that xrp would be the same as bitcoin or would be the next bitcoin but just by looking at the two, the differences are too noticeable. If you want to ever compare an altcoin (or god forbid a memecoin) to bitcoin, just write it out and notice how foolish you sound.

I get where you’re coming from — the comparison between XRP and Bitcoin always feels a bit forced, especially when you break it down technically and philosophically.

Bitcoin isn’t just a payment system; it’s a decentralised monetary network with a fixed supply and no controlling entity. XRP, on the other hand, was built for a very specific use case — fast, low-cost cross-border payments — and it does that well, but with trade-offs like centralisation and large pre-mined supply.

The moment a project relies on a company (Ripple Labs) to maintain or grow adoption, it automatically drifts away from the “Bitcoin model.” XRP may have use-case potential, especially with banks and remittances, but calling it the “next Bitcoin” feels more like marketing than analysis.

If anything, I’d say XRP is more like a specialised fintech token than a store-of-value asset. The two play in totally different leagues — and that’s okay. Not every altcoin needs to be “the next Bitcoin.”

That said, it’s interesting how narratives like this still get traction. Maybe that shows how strong Bitcoin’s benchmark status really is.