Ripple Former CTO Says XRP Could Flip Bitcoin Through an 18x Surge

XRP hovers under $1.40 while the Ripple former chief architect just put a number on the maximalist dream: an eighteen-fold rally. That’s the gap David Schwartz, Ripple former CTO and one of the designers of the XRP Ledger, quietly implied during a live X Space.

“It is more likely that XRP flips Bitcoin due to surge in price of XRP than the collapse of Bitcoin.”David Schwartz, 2026 pic.twitter.com/hdDuF7VCEf— MC Solar Wind (@MCSolarWind) September 9, 2026 Responding to a host who believes XRP will eventually surpass Bitcoin by market cap, Schwartz didn’t dodge the question; he reframed it.

“I honestly have to say, I think XRP surging is probably more likely than not,” he said, adding that a flip is more plausible through XRP’s ascent than Bitcoin’s collapse. The clip spread fast among XRP holders eager for validation from a technical insider.

Fair enough, but the numbers behind that comment deserve scrutiny.Bitcoin (BTC)24h7d30d1yAll timeBitcoin currently sits near $78,000, but XRP’s market cap runs about $87.25 billion, or just 5.5% of Bitcoin’s size.