The ONE Cryptocurrency Predicted to Dethrone Ethereum by 2028—Standard Chartered Analyst Geoff Kendrick’s Bold Call

Move over Ethereum—there's a new contender gunning for the throne.

Standard Chartered's top crypto analyst Geoff Kendrick just dropped a bombshell prediction that's sending shockwaves through digital asset circles. One altcoin isn't just competing; it's positioned to outright surpass ETH's market dominance within three years.

The scalability solution you haven't been paying enough attention to

While Ethereum struggles with gas fees that make Wall Street brokers blush, this protocol executes transactions at speeds that leave ETH in the digital dust. Its architecture doesn't just improve on the blueprint—it rewrites the entire playbook for decentralized infrastructure.

Why institutions are quietly accumulating positions

Behind closed doors, hedge funds and asset managers are building stakes that would make Satoshi nod approvingly. The regulatory clarity—something Ethereum still battles daily—gives this asset a runway cleaner than a Swiss bank's ledger.

The numbers don't lie (even if traditional finance sometimes does)

Kendrick's projection isn't based on hype—it's rooted in adoption metrics that are accelerating faster than a leveraged crypto trade. Transaction volumes, developer activity, and institutional inflows all point toward an inevitable flipping event that'll reshape the entire crypto hierarchy.

Bet against this prediction at your own portfolio's peril. The smart money already isn't.

What is XRP and why is it important?

At its core, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency designed as an alternative to fiat currencies, while Ethereum's blockchain serves as a foundation for building DeFi ecosystems.

XRP is different. Offered through Ripple, it is a digital asset whose primary function is to enable faster and cheaper cross-border payments. Unlike Bitcoin, XRP's value isn't really driven by speculation. While it shares Ethereum's emphasis on real-world utility, its focus is much narrower: positioning itself as crucial infrastructure for the evolving global payments landscape.

Today, much of the cross-border transaction market relies on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network. It has global reach, but it is often viewed as outdated and cumbersome.

Payments can take days to settle, moving through a series of intermediary banks, each charging fees for processing and foreign currency conversion. To prevent delays, businesses must maintain pre-funded accounts at these intermediaries, theoretically tying up capital that could be deployed for better purposes.

XRP offers a more streamlined approach. Rather than funds passing through a string of banks, a corporation could convert its currency into XRP, transfer it across the crypto's ledger instantly, and have the receiving bank convert the tokens into a local currency.

By acting as a bridge currency, XRP helps eliminate intermediaries, reducing the friction of transaction fees and foreign exchange costs, and dramatically speeding up the settlement process.

Image source: Getty Images.

How could XRP surpass Ethereum's market value?

A key driver of Kendrick's bullish outlook on XRP is an expectation for broader adoption of Ripple's payments network, fueled in part by fading legal uncertainties and less pressure from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

These shifts could pave the way for the accelerated launch of spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), making the asset more accessible to both large financial institutions and retail investors.

Kendrick also sees some challenges for Ethereum's scalability. It's a backbone for many DeFi applications, but it faces intense competition from faster and lower-cost blockchainsand.

XRP, by contrast, has a tightly focused value proposition: cost-efficient, high-liquidity cross-border transactions. This specialization could make it a go-to solution for banks and payments processors, offering a defensible niche within a huge, economically significant market that remains inefficient and ripe for disruption.

Is XRP a buy right now?

Although Kendrick's forecast adds excitement to XRP's outlook, his model comes with important caveats.

First, broader adoption of Ripple does not automatically translate into greater use of XRP. Banks can use Ripple's infrastructure without settling transactions in XRP.

Second, despite Ripple's recent wins in the regulatory landscape, competition remains tough. The growing popularity of stablecoins issued by private corporations, along with potential rollouts of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), offer alternative solutions that could diminish XRP's perceived value.

As of this writing (Aug. 18), XRP's market cap stood at roughly $181 billion, larger thanorindividually, and about equal to the combined value ofand.

This underscores both its scale and the challenge ahead: For XRP to flip Ethereum in market value in the coming years, multiple favorable developments need to align almost perfectly and in a relatively short time frame.

Given these uncertainties, XRP may be better suited as an opportunity to monitor right now rather than one to buy hand over fist at current prices. In my eyes, XRP is priced to perfection and has a long road ahead before it witnesses more valuation expansion.