A Holder Who Bought XRP at the January 2018 Top Has Waited Almost Nine Years to Get Even. By One Count, It Still Has Not Happened.
Buying XRP at the wrong moment in January 2018 turned into one of crypto's most punishing waiting games, and nearly nine years later, two competing price records cannot even agree on whether that buyer ever got relief.
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Since XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) hit its January 2018 peak, a buyer who invested at the top has waited nearly nine years to break even. This hypothetical buyer illustrates how timing can affect a single investment. As of October 14, 2026, XRP trades at $1.33, 63.6% below its all-time high of $3.65 set in July 2025.
However, determining whether this buyer has broken even is complicated. One price history shows the January 2018 peak at $3.84, suggesting the buyer has been at a loss since the purchase. Another source says the peak was around $3.40 and notes that XRP reclaimed this level in July 2025, reaching $3.65 before falling again.
So, after nearly nine years, has the January 2018 buyer ever broken even?
Two XRP Price Records Give Two Different Answers
Crypto trades on multiple exchanges, and each source builds its price data from the exchanges it monitors. Consequently, price spikes on one exchange might not appear on another, leading to discrepancies in what constitutes an all-time high.
The chosen record significantly impacts the buyer’s situation. According to the $3.84 record, the buyer remains in the red, meaning their investment is worth less than what they paid. However, under the record showing a peak of around $3.40, the investor briefly broke even in July 2025 before the price fell again.
Additionally, XRP closed at $1.13 at the end of January 2018, far below that month’s peak price. Since only a few traders paid near the peak for a short time, comparisons based on monthly closing prices do not accurately reflect what most top buyers actually spent.
The 2018 Top Buyer Has Spent Almost Nine Years at a Loss
Following 2018, XRP lost most of its gains from the price surge. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s legal case against Ripple concerning XRP’s status hindered investor interest and limited market access for years until it concluded in August 2025. U.S. funds were cleared to hold XRP later that same year, and while the price recovered in 2025, it has since declined again.
As of October 14, the top buyer remains at a loss. At $1.33, XRP is trading 65.4% below the $3.84 peak and about 61% below the $3.40 peak.
Additionally, the buyer faces another cost—the time itself. Opportunity cost- the earnings the money could have generated elsewhere- adds to this loss. Funds tied up in a losing investment since January 2018 have missed out on potential growth, and even if the price rises again, those lost years cannot be reclaimed.
A $100-a-Month XRP Buyer Is Now in a Better Position
Let’s consider a second hypothetical buyer who invested $100 in XRP at the end of each month starting from January 2018. By the 106th purchase on October 14, this buyer has invested a total of $10,600, now worth about $28,500 at $1.33.
However, this buyer was not always in the black. XRP dropped below $0.50 within six months after the first purchase, and throughout much of 2018 to 2020, the investment was worth less than the total amount paid.
Nonetheless, spreading the investments across multiple months allowed the buyer to buy more coins when prices were low and fewer when prices were high. Most of this buyer’s funds were invested while XRP traded much lower than its 2018 peak, bringing the average cost to around $0.49 per coin. Thus, despite both investors experiencing the same downturn and rally in 2025, one purchased at a single high price, while the other spread purchases across 106 prices.
This calculation has limitations. It uses monthly closing prices and does not account for fees, the price difference between buying and selling (spreads), or taxes, all of which would reduce the overall result. It also assumes XRP remains viable; investing monthly in a coin that fails could result in a total loss.
Has the January 2018 XRP Top Buyer Ever Broken Even?
The January 2018 top buyer has never achieved a lasting break-even point, and by the stricter record, has never broken even at all. According to the record with a peak of around $3.40, the buyer briefly returned to even in July 2025 but fell back into a loss. Even breaking even at that point would have benefited only a seller who acted quickly; those who held on are now underwater again at $1.33.
Ultimately, only XRP trading above $3.84 can clarify this situation—about 189% higher than its price on October 14. Reaching that would bring the buyer back to break-even on both records. Until then, the question remains whether XRP can ever surpass its all-time high on the stricter record and hold that level.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
