XRP Is 63% Below Its All-Time High and Ethereum 51%. Which Reclaims their ATH First?

XRP and Ethereum both sit far below their 2025 peaks, and the path back looks very different for each coin. ETF flows, banking partnerships, and upcoming upgrades will determine which one gets there first.

Published October 22, 2026, 11:34am ET · 4 min read

The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) trades at $1.33, 63.5% below its all-time high of $3.65 set on July 17, 2025. In comparison, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is priced at $2,403, roughly 51.4% below its peak of $4,946 reached on August 24, 2025.

Both cryptocurrencies have fallen over the last month, with XRP down 13.8% and Ethereum down 12.6%. In the past 24 hours, XRP has fluctuated between $1.32 and $1.40, while Ethereum has traded between $2,396 and $2,519.

The drive to reclaim their all-time highs motivates many investors. Those who bought during the 2025 surge would still be in profit today. To reach their former highs, XRP needs a 174.4% increase, while Ethereum needs a 105.9% gain. So, in the battle of XRP vs. Ethereum, which coin is more likely to hit its all-time high first?

What XRP and Ethereum Would Be Worth Back at Their Records

Two shiny, silver-colored physical cryptocurrency coins, Ethereum and Ripple (XRP), stand upright on a dark, reflective surface. The coin on the left has the Ethereum logo in gold and the word 'ethereum' embossed below it. The coin on the right features a gold outline of a world map made of dots, the XRP logo, and the word 'ripple' at the bottom. Both coins cast clear reflections below them. In the blurred background, several stacks of similar coins are visible, contributing to a sense of financial depth.

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Market capitalization, calculated by multiplying a coin’s current price by its circulating supply, is a crucial factor in evaluating potential price targets. Currently, XRP has a market cap of about $83.85 billion, with 63.13 billion tokens in circulation. By comparison, Ethereum has a market cap of $293.48 billion and 122.15 million ETH in circulation.

XRP’s supply dynamics pose a challenge. With a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens, a significant portion of XRP has yet to enter circulation. The current fully diluted valuation—what XRP would be worth if all tokens were circulating—stands at $132.81 billion.

This implies that new tokens entering circulation will require additional investment for XRP to reach its previous highs. Additionally, as XRP ranks fifth by market cap, reclaiming its record would mean surpassing larger cryptocurrencies currently above it.

XRP Needs ETF Buyers and Bank Customers to Show Up

Crypto Coins XRP Ripple and ETH Ethereum on US Dollar bills

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To regain its lost value, XRP needs more buyers, particularly through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and banking partnerships. As of October 21, XRP ETFs held $1.57 billion in net assets, with total net inflows since launch reaching $1.80 billion according to SoSoValue.

However, new investment has slowed to a trickle, with the funds taking in just $708,500 on October 21 after two days of no inflows and a $2.47 million outflow on October 16. For reference, these funds had attracted $22.65 million on September 25, during a run of inflows when XRP traded at $1.57 on September 22, but interest waned shortly thereafter.

On a promising note, Germany’s Sparkassen savings banks began offering XRP trading through their banking app on October 19, with plans to integrate around 30 to 40 more banks each month. However, XRP’s daily trading volume showed little change on its launch day.

Additionally, the proposed lending amendment for the XRP Ledger, designed to enable direct borrowing and lending within the network, still needs more validator votes, the independent servers that approve ledger changes. If this amendment gains approval, it could create new demand for XRP.

Ethereum Has Wall Street Rails but Weak ETF Flows

A gold Ethereum cryptocurrency coin featuring the ETH symbol and text 'DECENTRALIZED PLATFORM THAT RUNS SMART CONTRACTS' is displayed prominently on a reflective surface. To the right, a small stack of gold and silver coins is visible. The background is a blurred financial chart with blue, green, and red elements, indicating market data.

Gerdie Hutomo / Shutterstock.com

Unlike XRP, Ethereum now has a major bank’s payment token running on its network. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM | JPM Price Prediction) announced on October 19 the integration of JPM Coin, a deposit token, onto Ethereum’s main public network. A deposit token is a digital version of a bank deposit operating on a blockchain.

However, Ethereum has also faced ETF outflows, with $201.89 million leaving on October 6 and $103.28 million on October 19, according to SoSoValue. Its cumulative net inflows have decreased from $13.96 billion on September 28 to $12.83 billion on October 21. The modest inflow of about $14.96 million on October 21 marked the first positive flow since October 13.

A positive sign for ETH: 43.8 million ETH are currently staked, indicating many holders have locked their coins to help secure the network in exchange for rewards. This staking reduces the available supply for quick trades, which could affect price movements.

As for upcoming developments, Ethereum’s major upgrade, Glamsterdam, is set to enter the Hoodi test network on October 26, giving developers a platform to test changes before they hit the main network. Looking ahead, Ethereum has long-term projections for 2028.

Which Coin Reclaims Its All-Time High First, XRP or Ethereum?

Given the circumstances, Ethereum appears more likely to reach its all-time high before XRP does. With a 105.9% increase needed compared to XRP’s 174.4%, plus JPM Coin and a sizeable ETF asset base, Ethereum has the edge. However, a smaller required gain doesn’t guarantee a faster recovery. XRP rose 25.1% over the past 90 days, while Ethereum gained 33% in the same timeframe.

For Ethereum, reaching its previous high likely hinges on sustained ETF inflows, followed by breaks above $2,753 (its September 22 price) and $2,967 (its price at the start of 2026). For XRP, ETF inflows would likely need to return to their September rate before XRP reclaims $1.57 and then $1.84. If ETH closes below $2,396 or XRP stays below $1.57 with flat ETF flows, a return to either record before 2027 looks unlikely.

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Sam Daodu

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

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