Is XRP a Millionaire-Maker Cryptocurrency?

Becoming a millionaire-maker cryptocurrency requires more than just a few good years here and there. What's needed is long-term staying power, and phenomenal growth consistently delivered over a decade or more.

According to this criteria, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) are certainly in the conversation. But is XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) also a millionaire-maker cryptocurrency?

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XRP's track record

First, let's start with XRP's historical track record. XRP launched back in June 2012, and pricing information is available from 2013, so there's actually quite a bit of data to dig into. The first recorded price for XRP on a cryptocurrency exchange is generally regarded to be somewhere between $0.005 and $0.01.

Thus, if you look at CoinMarketCap, you'll see that XRP is up a head-spinning 51,000% since launch. Even though XRP still trades for a rather pedestrian $3, it started trading at a price of less than a penny, so the returns look impressive indeed. Even if you had invested only $2,000 more than a decade ago, a return of 51,000% would be enough to make you a crypto millionaire today.

For that reason, it's possible to say that XRP has millionaire-maker potential. The only problem here is that only a relatively small group of individuals and institutions got in on the ground floor, back when XRP was trading for less than a penny. Analysis of blockchain wallets shows that investment in XRP is highly concentrated, and even today, fewer than 5% of XRP blockchain wallets hold more than $25,000 worth of XRP.

Moreover, if you zoom out and take a look at XRP's price chart over time, a very mixed picture emerges. The price of XRP basically went nowhere from 2012 to 2018. Then it spiked higher, only to then promptly lose nearly all its value, until it once again moved sharply upward in 2020-2021. Then, it once again lost nearly all its value, until it once again went soared in late 2024 and early 2025.

This boom-and-bust cycle helps to explain why XRP still trades for a price of $3. Yes, there are massive peaks. But there are also massive valleys. Holding onto your XRP through all of this turbulence and volatility would have been stomach-turning, to say the least.

What is a realistic future growth rate for XRP?

Year to date, XRP is up an impressive 42%. So, for the sake of argument, let's assume that XRP is able to maintain that level of growth over the next decade. At the end of the decade, the price of XRP will have increased from $3 to $100.

Thus, in order to end up with a million dollars at the end of the decade, you'd need to buy 10,000 XRP. That would set you back a cool $30,000 at today's prices. For most investors, that's simply out of the question.

However, again for the sake of argument, let's assume that you happen to have an extra $30,000 laying around. It's still unclear if XRP is capable of delivering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% over a full decade. Remember -- the past history of XRP is filled with alternating periods of boom and bust.

Potential XRP catalysts

Many early crypto investors were hoping that XRP's blockchain technology might eventually replace the SWIFT payment network as a way of sending fast, low-cost cross-border payments. That's exactly the sort of blockbuster catalyst needed to make XRP a $100 cryptocurrency.

Given that SWIFT handles a reported $150 trillion in transaction volume each year, being able to capture even a relatively tiny piece of this overall volume might be worth trillions. This summer, executives at Ripple (the company behind the XRP token) suggested that XRP might capture 14% or more of the global annual transaction volume of SWIFT within five years.

Since then, however, the outlook for XRP has become rather murky. There are now questions about the leadership team at Ripple, as well as questions about SWIFT's intentions when it comes to trials of XRP blockchain payment technology.

Where does XRP go from here?

The biggest problem, from my perspective, is that XRP often trades like a meme coin. There's so much hype and buzz, but XRP continually disappoints. Many investors lose sight of one key fact: in more than a decade, XRP has never traded higher than a price of $4.

In order to become a millionaire-maker cryptocurrency, XRP would likely need to hit a price of $100 within the next decade. If history is any guide, that's simply not going to happen. For that reason, I'm looking elsewhere for a cryptocurrency capable of delivering life-changing wealth.

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