Better Crypto Buy: XRP or Solana?

Key Points

• XRP and Solana are two altcoins with high upside potential.

• Institutional adoption of XRP is growing, thanks largely to expanding use cases involving payments.

• Over the next three years, XRP has the potential to quadruple in value.

• 10 stocks we like better than XRP ›

If you are looking to diversify your crypto portfolio beyond just Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), two of the most popular options are XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL). Both rank among the top six cryptocurrencies in the world based on market cap, and both have shown their explosive upside potential over the past 24 months.

Which crypto is the better buy? XRP might get all the headlines right now, but Solana also has a lot to offer.

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Future upside potential

Cryptocurrencies, like equities, should be valued based on their future upside potential. And that's where XRP appears to have the upper hand over Solana right now.

Now that Ripple (the company behind the XRP token) has settled its long-running case with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the stage is set for greater institutional adoption of XRP. This includes new Ripple partnerships with financial institutions around the world (and especially within the United States), as well as the build-out of new initiatives involving the Ripple cross-border payment network and the XRP blockchain ledger.

I'm keeping my eye on two new initiatives: a new stablecoin initiative and a new asset tokenization initiative. Both have real potential to boost usage of the XRP blockchain and drive future growth for years to come. At the same time, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has made the point that the XRP-powered Ripple payment network could one day challenge SWIFT as a transaction network for financial institutions.

Image source: Getty Images.

Of course, Solana is no slouch either when it comes to future upside growth potential. Solana has long been touted as a potential "Ethereum killer." Anything Ethereum can do, the thinking goes, Solana can do faster and cheaper.

One area where Solana has the obvious advantage is in terms of sheer processing speed. The core Ethereum blockchain can only process 20 to 30 transactions per second, compared to 100,000 for Solana.

Moreover, Solana is the only major Layer-1 blockchain with its own mobile device. In 2023, Solana launched its blockchain mobile initiative, including a mobile phone (the Saga), a mobile development stack, and mobile apps. The goal, of course, was to optimize the new mobile device for the Solana blockchain.

Given that many people now carry their mobile devices with them wherever they go, the thinking is that this mobile-centric approach to crypto could help onboard more users to Solana for years to come.

Future price targets

How do these fabulous future growth prospects play out in terms of price? XRP appears to have the edge. Quite simply, the future price targets for XRP are off the charts. Some analysts predict that XRP will soar past $10, $20, $30, and even $100 within just a few years.

For the sake of comparing apples with apples, and oranges with oranges, it's worth comparing the price predictions from Standard Chartered for both XRP and Solana. In both cases, Standard Chartered calculated potential price targets for 2025 and 2028.

In April, Standard Chartered predicted that XRP would hit a price of $5.50 by the end of 2025, before eventually hitting a price of $12.50 by the end of 2028. Given XRP's current price of $3, that implies that XRP could nearly double in value by the end of this year, and then quadruple in value within the next three years.

In June, Standard Chartered predicted that Solana would hit a price of $275 by the end of 2025, and a price of $475 by the end of 2028. Given Solana's current price of $185, this implies a price increase of 50% by the end of this year, and a price increase of 150% by the end of 2028.

Why I'm buying XRP and not Solana

At the end of the day, both XRP and Solana could be great ways to diversify your overall crypto portfolio. They're both capable of explosive upside gains over the next few years. And both are projected to receive spot ETFs by the end of this year, so that means more institutional money flowing into them soon.

If forced to pick between the two, I'd pick XRP. The consensus appears to be that it has much higher upside potential than Solana. That being said, Solana's blockchain ecosystem is more diverse than XRP's, giving it more room for mainstream adoption in coming years.

Investing in crypto is always risky and volatile, especially when it comes to altcoins. But if you already have a position in Bitcoin or Ethereum, it could be worth diversifying a small amount of money into XRP as a way of boosting overall returns. Just make sure to keep your risk tolerance in mind.

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.