XRP Market Cap Surge Threatens Ethereum’s ‘Main Altcoin’ Status in 2026

the world’s highest IQ holder, has made an interesting and bold statement. He said that XRP could surpass Ethereum in market value by 2026.

Kim also shared the view that XRP priced below $2 is extremely undervalued, does not plan to sell his holdings, and sees it as the main altcoin to watch heading into 2026. He also said that, in his personal opinion, XRP could reach $100 within the next five years.

Citing his statements, and opened up about XRP’s expanding use. The recent integration with the Solana network has also strengthened his long-term outlook on the token.

However, XRP currently trades around $1.89, giving it a market capitalization of roughly $116–129 billion, depending on price movements. Ethereum remains far ahead, with a market value of about $360 billion.

Investor interest in XRP has also been supported by strong demand for newly launched exchange-traded funds tied to the token. Since their debut in mid-November, XRP-linked ETFs have recorded net inflows every trading day, accumulating more than $1 billion in fresh capital.

By contrast, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have seen sustained outflows in recent weeks. Around $10 billion has exited Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF products over the same period, with Bitcoin ETFs alone recording about $800 million in outflows across several sessions this week.

Experts say some investors are reallocating funds from Bitcoin and Ethereum into alternative assets such as XRP and Solana.

investors seeking familiarity

“Many investors are taking a position in XRP because of the familiarity. It has a long track record. Obviously, price performance has been pretty impressive over the past three or four years. So, yeah, there are a number of reasons that it’s attracting investor dollars.”

For now, XRP remains well behind Ethereum in size, and whether it can close that gap by 2026 remains uncertain.