Long-term investors in Ripple (XRP -3.88%) are likely very pleased. Over the past 10 years, XRP's value has exploded 21,600% higher. Most of Ripple's value, however, has been created in short bursts. Despite a recent pullback, for instance, Ripple's price has soared 288% since the start of last November.
This is what makes Ripple's latest correction so appealing. As of April 3, XRP's value has dropped 39% since mid-January. Many investors are wondering if this is their chance to add a proven long-term winner to their portfolio. If you want to maximize your portfolio's growth potential, keep reading.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
2 things every Ripple investor must understand
Ripple has been a great long-term investment. From the start of April 2017 to April 3 of 2025, XRP's value rose by roughly 7,500%. That's not too far off Bitcoin's rise of around 9,100% in the same period. But when you take a look at the charts below, you'll instantly pick up on one thing: Bitcoin's rise has been far more consistent than Ripple's, even though both cryptocurrencies have been extremely volatile over the years. Ripple's spikes and corrections have typically been far sharper than Bitcoin's.
This is the first thing to understand about Ripple today: Its volatility, especially for a $200 billion project, is even higher than that of most other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
The second thing to understand about Ripple today is that its growth journey will be far different than that of other crypto projects. Bitcoin, for instance, is largely a store-of-value play like gold. Ethereum, meanwhile, is seeking to build a decentralized ecosystem of applications running on top of its distributed computing platform. Ripple, however, is attempting to get global institutions to ditch their current cross-border transaction methods in exchange for its blockchain-powered network.
SWIFT, the incumbent cross-border payment network used by banks for decades, currently has more than 11,000 financial institutions using it. Ripple, meanwhile, is still piloting its technology with around 100 local banking partners around the world, though exact data isn't easy to come by. Suffice it to say, however, that Ripple has a long and difficult road ahead of it to convince global financial institutions -- some centuries-old -- to use their promising but less proven solution for cross-border transactions.
Buy XRP for this reason only
I'm a big fan of Bitcoin. Its ability to act as a store of value is on par with gold's, even though its market cap is around 90% lower than gold's. Ethereum, meanwhile, is also a promising project given that it leads the decentralized space in developer count and application growth -- two strong indicators that it can eventually become the global foundational layer for a decentralized economy.
Ripple, on the other hand, is a far more complex story. It doesn't have intrinsic value as a store-of-value asset like Bitcoin. Neither is it able to create its own decentralized ecosystem from scratch like Ethereum. Instead, it needs to convince a stodgy industry with entrenched methods of doing business to switch to its novel product. Regulatory uncertainty, as well as Ripple's troubles with the Securities and Exchange Commission, have only further reduced these banks' incentives to work with the company.
Cryptocurrencies have become a serious asset class for investors, but the choices you make within this group can make a big difference. Those looking to take a speculative bet on a high-potential project should consider Ripple. But for investors looking for more balanced risk-reward opportunities with proven use cases already intact, other crypto assets like Ethereum or Bitcoin could be the better choice.
