Even though the cryptocurrency market has been highly volatile over the last half-decade, investors who took a buy-and-hold approach with top coins generally wound up seeing strong returns. As of this writing, Bitcoin's (BTC +0.66%) token price has risen 171% over the last five years of trading. Meanwhile, XRP's (XRP +1.52%) token price has rocketed 613% higher across the stretch. Dogecoin's (DOGE +1.20%) gains have been even more impressive -- coming in at 1,390% over the period.
Which of these cryptocurrencies looks like the best buy right now? Read on to see which token you should back if you're looking to establish or expand exposure to the crypto market.
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An early round elimination
For a meme coin, Dogecoin has demonstrated impressive longevity. The cryptocurrency has a market capitalization of roughly $21.4 billion and ranks as the ninth-largest coin by valuation. While the meme coin's ability to retain a top-10 ranking on the crypto charts has been impressive, it doesn't mean that the cryptocurrency is a top long-term buy.
Even though Dogecoin has dramatically outperformed Bitcoin over the last five years, more recent performance tells a different story. While Bitcoin has fallen roughly 12% over the last year, Dogecoin has plummeted 64%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is up 293.5% over the last three years, and Dogecoin is up just 46%. The market's leading meme coin comes with a lot of risk, and relative adoption trends suggest that the potential upside isn't worth the trade-off.
Bitcoin vs. XRP
Bitcoin continues to be the largest cryptocurrency by valuation and has a market capitalization of roughly $1.8 trillion. Meanwhile, XRP is the fifth-largest token overall and has a market cap of roughly $119 billion. The difference in valuations reflects vastly different levels of support for the respective tokens. Bitcoin is unlikely to lose its status as the market's leading token by valuation any time soon, but XRP's smaller market cap could leave the door open for more explosive upside.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
With that in mind, I think investors have to consider their personal risk tolerance and reward goals when choosing between Bitcoin and XRP. Pricing dynamics for Bitcoin continue to have a powerful effect across the crypto market, and they play a big role in shaping XRP's valuation momentum. If the crypto market sees strong bullish momentum over the next year and beyond, XRP stands a good chance of outperforming Bitcoin. Alternatively, I think Bitcoin will likely outperform XRP if gains for the crypto market are relatively muted -- or if bearish momentum accelerates.
