$1,000 in XRP 5 Years Ago? Here’s the Jaw-Dropping ROI You’d Be Sitting On Today

XRP's wild ride: From crypto darling to regulatory punching bag—and back again?

Five years ago, dropping a grand on Ripple's controversial token seemed like either genius or madness. Today? Let's just say hodlers aren't complaining.

The numbers tell the story

While Wall Street hedge funds were busy overcomposing their 'diversified portfolios,' XRP was quietly (then loudly) doing its thing. The exact figures? Let's just say that Starbucks habit you financed instead would've been cheaper.

Regulatory rollercoaster

SEC lawsuits. Exchange delistings. The kind of drama that makes Bitcoin maximalists smug—until the rebound came. Because in crypto, even 'dead' projects have nine lives.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda

Of course, hindsight's 20/20—just ask the guys still waiting for their XRP Lambos. But one thing's clear: in the casino of crypto, sometimes the house loses. And when it does? The payoff makes Vegas look like a kiddie arcade.

Image source: Getty Images.

A $1,000 investment in XRP five years ago would now be worth $10,000

As of this writing, XRP is up more than 915% over the last five years. That means that a $1,000 investment in the crypto token five years ago would now be worth more than $10,000. Most of those gains have arrived within the last year.

XRP Price data by YCharts

XRP has surged more than 500% over the last 12 months of trading, with huge gains driven by President Donald Trump's election win, subsequent favorable political and regulatory developments, and a surge of bullish momentum for the crypto market at large. XRP's valuation had been under pressure in previous years due to a lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple (the company that founded the token) for allegedly offering the token as a security.

While some key issues in the SEC's legal case involving Ripple and the XRP token still need to be resolved, President Trump's appointment of Paul Atkins as the new head of the regulatory agency and signs of support for the token have helped power gains for the cryptocurrency. Along with a generally bullish backdrop for the crypto market this year, political and regulatory support has spurred huge gains for XRP.