Forget Solana, XRP may flip Ethereum first amid 5-year high

XRP (XRP) price versus Ether (ETH) reached its highest level in five years over the weekend, extending its recovery.

On March 15, the XRP/ETH pair touched 0.00128 ETH for the first time since April 2020. That amounts to a 925% rebound when measured from its all-time low of 0.00013 ETH established in June 2024 and approximately 620% gains since November 2024, when Donald Trump won the US presidential election.

XRP potential breakout versus ETH

The XRP/ETH rally is fueling speculation among market watchers that XRP could flip Ether to become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

For instance, analyst Dom highlights 0.0012 ETH as a historically significant resistance level, a threshold that has consistently preceded explosive rallies in past cycles. He notes that XRP has gone parabolic after breaking this resistance, delivering gains of at least 160% in previous instances.

He illustrated the same with three key breakout points—in early 2017, late 2017, and 2018 when XRP’s surged against Ether following a confirmed breach of the 0.0012 ETH resistance.

As of March 16, XRP was once again testing this critical level. If history repeats itself, even a partial rally of 80% would be enough for XRP to flip ETH in market capitalization, DOM suggests, especially as Ether’s price risks more downside in 2025.

Related: XRP price poised for 46% gains after Ripple secures first Dubai license

At $138 billion, XRP’s market cap is less than $100 billion short of hitting Ethereum’s. Moreover, XRP’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) briefly surpassed Ethereum’s earlier this week.

For context, 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.

Why is Ethereum underperforming XRP?

XRP’s market dominance has grown by over 300% since Trump’s reelection on Nov. 5.

The same period has witnessed Ethereum losing its market share by over 35.50%, showing a clear 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 especially benefited XRP, which caters to enterprise users, particularly as Ripple unveiled an institutional DeFi roadmap in February.

Meanwhile, Ethereum has slumped due to rising competition from rival layer-1 blockchains, particularly Solana (SOL).

The Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which slashed Ethereum’s transaction fees by 95%, was intended to improve scalability. However, it has also reduced ETH burn rates, increasing supply and weakening its deflationary appeal and “ultrasound money” narrative.

At the same time, 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.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.