Is XRP Still the Best Cryptocurrency You Can Buy for $1?

For many crypto investors, part of the appeal of XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is its low price. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can get exposure to a high-upside crypto.

But I'm no longer convinced that XRP is the best cryptocurrency you can buy for about $1. After an extensive analysis of dozens of cryptocurrencies priced for $1 or lower, I've come up with a bargain-priced potential replacement for XRP in your portfolio.

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What has XRP done for us lately?

XRP is down more than 20% in 2026, and no matter what Ripple (the company behind the XRP token) seems to do, its price just doesn't seem to move higher. In fact, after hitting a multi-year high of $3.65 last summer, XRP has been in rapid decline. It's now down 60% from that high, and trades for just $1.45 at this writing.

That shouldn't be happening. Theoretically, XRP now has full regulatory clarity after last year's resolution of a five-year legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It's backed by Ripple, a fintech giant that's currently valued at $40 billion. And it has the full tailwinds of a pro-crypto administration determined to make America "the crypto capital of the world." XRP should be on fire right now, but it's not.

XRP vs. the competition

Of course, XRP is still better than former bargain-priced gems such as Cardano, which is down a staggering 92% from its all-time high. And it's certainly better than meme coin Dogecoin, which is down 88% from its all-time high.

But is XRP really better than Sui, an up-and-coming Layer-1 blockchain that now ranks among top 30 cryptocurrencies in the world by market cap? If Sui can ever close the gap with Ethereum, it might be worth as much as 75 times what it's worth now. Sui is currently valued at $3.5 billion, while Ethereum is valued at $265 billion.

Is this the best crypto priced under $1?

That being said, my new favorite cryptocurrency trading for less than $1 is Sky (CRYPTO: SKY), which is building a blockchain ecosystem for stablecoins. It's up 30% in 2026, and that's beating the pants off XRP, which is trending in the exact opposite direction.

If you don't recognize the name Sky, that's perfectly OK. It's the new name of MakerDAO, which rebranded in August 2024. MakerDAO was one of the first big decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, and it has the backing of Rune Christensen, an early crypto pioneer who helped to launch the first-ever stablecoin on the Ethereum blockchain.

More importantly, Sky is backed up by the big growth narrative around stablecoins. According to billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller, stablecoins have the potential to change global payments forever. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stablecoins are going to grow 10 times in size by 2030 to hit a total market cap of $3 trillion.

The sky is the limit for Sky, which trades for just $0.07 right now. I'd rather pick up 14 Sky tokens for $1 and see what happens than pick up 1 XRP token. In my opinion, XRP is now just a glorified stablecoin, and its long-run price could be headed to $1. Far better to invest in Sky's full stablecoin ecosystem, which has the potential to skyrocket in value.

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