Bitcoin vs XRP: Which Hits a New All-Time High First?
One coin needs a gain more than three times larger than the other to revisit its peak, yet distance alone may not settle the race. ETF outflows, policy shocks, and key resistance levels could decide which one climbs back first.
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Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is trading at $75,698, and XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) trades at $1.18 . For Bitcoin to recover its previous all-time high of $126,080, it needs to climb 66.56%. XRP must rise 209.32% to hit its all-time high of $3.65. Based solely on percentage needed, Bitcoin has less distance to cover.
Both coins have been trending downward recently. Bitcoin moved between $75,230 and $76,892 over the past 24 hours and has lost 1.93% over the past week. XRP has fallen more sharply, down 4.71% in a day and 4.62% over the week. Retail investors are getting more interested anyway, since Wikipedia page views rose 48.3% week over week for Bitcoin and 75.2% for the XRP Ledger.
What Bitcoin and XRP Would Be Worth Back at Their Peaks
If Bitcoin reaches its previous peak of $126,080, its market cap would approach $2.53 trillion, given the current supply of 20,105,365 coins. When Bitcoin closed at about $124,740 on October 6, 2025, it was worth about $2.49 trillion with roughly 19.94 million coins out.
Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21,000,000 coins, so dilution, new coins spreading the same value across more units, raises Bitcoin’s bar only slightly.
XRP has way more dilution. At its July 17, 2025 close of about $3.50, XRP was worth about $207.15 billion with roughly 59.1 billion tokens circulating. Currently, 63,516,606,953 XRP circulate, so XRP at $3.65 would carry a market cap of about $231.84 billion, against $75.27 billion now.
XRP’s maximum supply is capped at 100 billion tokens, so XRP’s buyers now have to support a higher price across more tokens than they did in July 2025.
Below is a summary comparison of Bitcoin and XRP.
| Metric | Bitcoin | XRP |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $75,698 | $1.18 |
| 24-Hour Change | -0.33% | -4.71% |
| 7-Day Change | -1.93% | -4.62% |
| All-Time High | $126,080 (Oct. 6, 2025) | $3.65 (July 17, 2025) |
| Percentage Below All-Time High | 39.96% | 67.67% |
| Gain Needed | +66.56% | +209.32% |
| Market Cap | $1.52 trillion | $75.27 billion |
| Circulating / Maximum Supply | 20,105,365 / 21,000,000 | 63,516,606,953 / 100,000,000,000 |
| US Spot ETF Net Flow (Nov. 5, 2026) | -$430.2 million | Not verified |
XRP’s required gain is about 3.15 times Bitcoin’s. However, this ratio only addresses the distance to their all-time highs and does not account for how soon that might happen.
What Could Spark a Rally Toward New Highs?
A Shift From Selling to Buying in Bitcoin ETFs
Bitcoin’s spot ETFs saw a substantial net outflow of $430.2 million on November 5, 2026. SoSoValue data show cumulative net inflows falling from $57.96 billion on October 21, 2026, to $56.11 billion now. After net losses of $643.3 million on October 30 and $635.5 million on October 22, 2026, Bitcoin likely needs weeks of positive flows before a new high looks possible.
Historical Policy Relief
Bitcoin rallied significantly in the summer of 2026. It gained momentum, closing at $62,820 on July 31 and rising to $78,553 by August 31. On his podcast in August 2026, Anthony Pompliano described Bitcoin jumping from around $63,000 to over $80,000 “within a couple of days” after the market heard from Scott Bessent.
Bitcoin couldn’t hold the summer rally. Bitcoin topped out at an $86,597 close on September 21, 2026, and has dropped 8.74% over 30 days. Still, Bitcoin is up 17.06% over the last 90 days, and XRP is up 16.85%, so both coins tend to respond when policy news becomes friendly.
XRP’s Absence of a Verified ETF
XRP lacks verified data on US spot ETF flows, which makes it heavily reliant on Bitcoin’s market performance. Over the past year, XRP has fallen 47.48%, compared with Bitcoin’s 25.83% drop, showing the heavy pressure bears have put on XRP.
Nonetheless, XRP has shown it can rebound fast, jumping from about $0.99 to $1.27 in just four days in August 2026. Our look at holding $1,000 in XRP until 2030 covers the longer term.
Bitcoin vs XRP FAQ
Which Coin Has Further to Go to Its All-Time High?
XRP has farther to climb. It’s 67.67% below its all-time high and needs a 209.32% gain, while Bitcoin is only 39.96% below and needs a 66.56% increase.
Is There a Chance XRP Will Reach a New All-Time High?
For XRP to surpass $3.65, it needs a 209.32% gain from $1.18, and it fell 4.62% over the past week.
Which Coin Is Likely to Reclaim Its All-Time High First, Bitcoin or XRP?
Bitcoin has a smaller gap to close to reach its previous high, but the table doesn’t show timing.
Is Bitcoin or XRP Closer to Reclaiming Its All-Time High?
Bitcoin is closer to recovering its all-time high, and neither coin looks likely to recover while spot Bitcoin ETFs keep posting outflows. Distance helps Bitcoin; the timing for either coin is harder to call.
For Bitcoin to gain momentum, ETF inflows must first turn positive, surpassing the $57.96 billion peak from October 2026. Then it must clear two resistance levels, the September 2026 high of $86,597 and the January 14, 2026 close of $96,899. A daily close above $100,000 would show Bitcoin can hold six figures again, making $126,080 a realistic target.
Our analysis of what one Bitcoin could be worth in 2030 runs the longer numbers.
XRP needs to clear the $1.42 mark before aiming for $2.35, its closing price on January 5, 2026. Only after reaching these levels would the $3.65 target come into view. If Bitcoin falls below its 24-hour low of $75,230 and ETF outflows persist, it could drop toward its June 30, 2026 closing price of $58,566. XRP’s low from August 2026, around $0.99, might come back into focus too.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
