The XRP debate has taken a different turn since Tuesday, when Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse argued publicly that XRP could realistically overtake Ethereum in terms of market capitalization. He cited its cross-border payments utility as a structural basis for a bid at the second spot.
The following is a summary of the information that you will find on this website:
- Ethereum has a market capitalization of $286.58 Billion, while XRP is in the fourth position, at $84.16 Billion, after Tether. This means that XRP’s value would have to triple to be on par with ETH.
- Garlinghouse says that his argument is based more on utility than speculation. He claims that XRP can be used to make cheaper and faster cross-border transfers, giving it a clear use case and scaleable application. Most digital assets do not have this.
- Standard Chartered separate projects XRP reaching $8 by the end 2026. By 2028, the analysts at Standard Chartered believe XRP would surpass Ethereum in terms of market capitalization.
CoinPaper April 14, report Garlinghouse noted that part of his confidence was based on regulatory issues. Ripple settled its SEC lawsuit in August 2025 with a $125-million settlement. The SEC and CFTC classified XRP jointly as a digital currency in March 2026. The regulatory clarity and the CLARITY act markup, expected late in April, give institutional investors an understanding they previously did not possess. On Tuesday, XRP was trading between $1.33 and $1.35. This is roughly 63 per cent below the cycle high for July 2025 of $3.65.
Garlinghouse 2026 is a “defining year” Ripple said XRP was at the heart of its strategy for payments, custodial, liquidity and treasury.
The argument for XRP to surpass Ethereum relies on a very different investment thesis. Ethereum was designed as a blockchain programmable for decentralized apps and smart contracts, which has attracted developer interest and large institutional investments. XRP has been designed for the purpose of moving money across borders rapidly and at a low cost. Garlinghouse argues XRP’s design is more suitable than a platform for smart contracts that can be used in a variety of ways. The argument seems more plausible than two years back, as the XRP Ledger has absorbed $1.3 Billion in tokenized real-world assets just in the first week of 2026.
The flip would need to occur.
XRP’s current price would have to be $4.60 in order for it to match Ethereum’s total market value. That is a 240 per cent increase from the current level. If the CLARITY act passes, ETFs inflows increase significantly from the current AUM combined of $1 billion and macroeconomic conditions become risky, this is possible. These three things must happen within the same period. Standard Chartered is targeting $8 by the end year. This would mean a favorable sequence of events: the passage of the Bill, an increase in institutional investment, and a reduction in macroeconomic factors resulting from the War.
The Gap is Still Wide Despite Recent Momentum
XRP is a very retail-oriented coin in the US. Retailers hold 84 per cent of ETF assets in domestic markets, while institutions only make up 48.8 per cent. Goldman Sachs, with $153.8 millions in XRP ETF assets, is the biggest institutional XRP ETF holder. Analysts say this likely reflects trading activity and not a directional bet. The CLARITY Act Markup is the catalyst that will most likely lead to institutional adoption in the short-term. However, institutional investors are still waiting for the approval of the committee. allocated XRP
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Source: crypto.news
