iPhone Prices in Bitcoin Plummet 20,000x Since 2010—How Many XRP Would It Take Now?

Bitcoin's astronomical surge turns everyday purchases into mind-bending math exercises.

Back in 2010, you could grab an iPhone for a sliver of a Bitcoin—fast forward to today, and that same device would cost a fraction of a satoshi. Talk about a wealth transfer.

Enter XRP. With its focus on cross-border settlements and banking partnerships, how does it stack up against Bitcoin’s eye-watering appreciation?

No surprise—traditional finance still can’t wrap its head around these returns. Maybe that’s why they’re busy regulating what they don’t own.

So, how many XRP for an iPhone? Do the math—it’s a lot less than you’d think.

The price of Bitcoin has surged over the years, sharply increasing its purchasing power. As a result, the value of goods priced in Bitcoin has dropped dramatically. A clear example is the iPhone.

In 2011, an iPhone 4 cost 162 BTC. Today, the situation looks very different. A new iPhone can be bought for only a fraction of a single Bitcoin. But how many XRP WOULD it take to buy one?

Bitcoin and the iPhone

Bitcoin’s early years saw its price hovering in the single digits. As the cryptocurrency gained adoption and surged in value, the cost of major items like an iPhone fell in BTC terms.

The iPhone’s price in bitcoin has dropped by nearly 20,000 times due to Bitcoin’s appreciation. Today, if one iPhone is valued at $1,000 and Bitcoin trades at $111,952, the cost would be 0.0089 BTC. For the newly announced iPhone 17, the price would be around 0.0072 BTC or 0.1866 ETH.

XRP and the iPhone

XRP’s purchasing power is far lower than Bitcoin’s. At its current price of $2.95, it would take around 338 XRP to buy a $1,000 iPhone.

While XRP does not yet match Bitcoin’s strength, analysts maintain a bullish outlook. They expect moderate gains in the token’s price, though not the dramatic surges seen in Bitcoin’s history.

XRP is the third-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $176.67 billion. ethereum ranks second with $522.22 billion. Bitcoin leads the market with $2.23 trillion. The wide gap shows just how dominant Bitcoin remains, even as other tokens like XRP continue to grow.