Cryptocurrency investors aren't having the best time. The leader of the pack, Bitcoin (BTC 1.11%), has seen its price drop 44% (as of March 5) since it reached an all-time record in October 2025.
With a market cap of $86 billion, XRP (XRP 1.87%) is another popular digital asset. It's currently trading 63% below its peak from January 2018.
Which of these is the better crypto buy right now?
Image source: Getty Images.
Bitcoin has been here before
Massive drawdowns aren't anything new for Bitcoin holders. In fact, there have been numerous instances in the past 15 years when the dominant crypto's price has tanked 50% or more. It has always recovered to reach newer highs. There's no reason to believe this situation will play out differently.
That's because Bitcoin's fundamentals haven't changed. Its supply cap remains firm at 21 million units, introducing scarcity that is rare in the world of financial markets. The number of nodes that run the Bitcoin software and relay transactions has never been higher. This is also basically the case for Bitcoin's hash rate, or the amount of computational power provided by miners that secures the network.
Bitcoin's upside remains significant. At a market cap of $1.4 trillion, it represents a tiny fraction of the total wealth in the world. Now that larger players are slowly getting involved, like corporations, governments, and asset managers, it opens up the floodgates to huge pools of capital that can propel the price over the long run.
CRYPTO: BTC
Key Data Points
XRP isn't disrupting payments
XRP's objective is to disrupt the market for cross-border payments. It's the token that runs on the XRP ledger, which aims to settle transactions in seconds at extremely low costs. XRP's focus on aiming to upgrade the way money moves is certainly commendable, particularly given that many cryptocurrencies lack this clear of a purpose for being.
However, it appears as though adoption is extremely hard to come by. If this was a valuable solution that financial institutions really supported and integrated into their own capital flows, then the token's price should reflect this. If XRP was used more in transactions, demand for it would be increasing steadily. But its price fell 9% in 2025. And it's down 24% so far in 2026.
Investors can safely come to the conclusion that XRP isn't fulfilling what it was created for. Instead, it's a tool for financial speculation, as evidenced by its wild volatility.
CRYPTO: XRP
Key Data Points
The leading crypto is the winner
Bitcoin is the better crypto to add to your portfolio. Unlike XRP, Bitcoin's sole purpose first and foremost is to become a more widely held asset, which if successful will boost demand.
Yes, macro factors will still impact its price. But its fundamentals haven't changed. Patient investors that can buy the dip today and hold for a decade will be deserving of the reward that comes.
