Top Expert Predicts When XRP Will Flip Ethereum: The Timeline That’s Shaking Crypto

Forget second place. A seismic prediction is rippling through crypto circles, forecasting the moment XRP overtakes Ethereum in market dominance.

The Countdown Begins

It's the ultimate crypto rivalry, and one analyst is putting a date on the showdown. The call isn't based on hopium but on a cold dissection of utility, regulatory clarity, and institutional adoption pathways. While Ethereum juggles scaling debates, XRP's rails are already moving real value—a fact that's starting to register on balance sheets outside the echo chamber.

Utility Trumps Narrative

The argument hinges on a simple, brutal metric: which network settles more cross-border value faster and cheaper? Proponents point to XRP's ledger already operating at enterprise scale while Ethereum's vision of a world computer remains, for many CFOs, a world of confusing gas fees and bridge risks. It's a classic tortoise-and-hare scenario, if the tortoise was built by bankers and the hare was built by philosophers.

The Institutional Tipping Point

Watch the corridors of traditional finance. The real fuel for a flip won't come from retail memes but from pension funds and payment giants seeking regulatory green lights and predictable infrastructure. One asset has been through the legal wringer and emerged with a clarity the other still lacks—a detail that matters more to a compliance officer than any whitepaper.

The prediction is bold, it's specific, and it cuts against the grain of common portfolio wisdom. It bets on boring, efficient plumbing beating revolutionary—but complex—smart contracts in the race for mainstream financial adoption. Whether it hits or misses, it forces a fundamental question: are we investing in the future of money, or just the future of speculative trading? Sometimes the most cynical finance jab is just a statement of fact—the market has a history of rewarding the solution that works today over the promise that might work tomorrow.

XRP Flipping Ethereum By 2026: The Core Prediction

At the base of the conversation is Kim’s assertion that XRP could overtake Ethereum’s market cap within the next year. In his post, he directly compared the two assets, stating that XRP could surpass ETH by 2026.

According to MarketCapOf, in order for XRP to flip the current market cap of Ethereum, it WOULD require not only a substantial price increase but also a push to new all-time highs at $5.64. This would require a sustained change in capital allocation across the broader market. 

XRP With The Market Cap Of ETH. Source: MarketCapOf

The possibility of XRP’s expanding institutional usage is a factor that could compress the valuation gap to Ethereum over time. Although the claim is speculative, the 2026 timeframe gives investors a clear timeframe through which XRP can meaningfully challenge Ethereum’s altcoin dominance.

From Bitcoin Advocacy To Direct XRP Accumulation

Kim, who claims to possess the world’s highest recorded IQ of 276, has frequently highlighted this distinction in his public profile. This is a detail that has added to the attention surrounding his recent statements on XRP. Furthermore, his recent comments have been a change from weeks of near-exclusive Bitcoin commentary to a pivot into XRP. In a previous post on December 12, Young Hoon Kim noted that he is only buying XRP from now on. Shortly before that, he also suggested that XRP has a strong chance of reaching a new all-time high before the end of the year.

In a separate post, he stated that XRP could reach $100 within the next five years. Although this statement is secondary to the Ethereum comparison, it adds important context to Kim’s broader thesis. A $100 XRP would likely require DEEP institutional adoption and XRP playing a central role in large-scale financial infrastructure. 

Some critics view price prediction and the claim of XRP’s market cap overtaking that of Ethereum in 2026 as too optimistic, even some of the most popular XRP analysts. One of the replies came from an X user known as BD, who claims to be the world’s most bullish XRP holder. He warned Kim to be careful of what he is saying. “If you are wrong, you will be the guy with the lowest IQ,” he said.