10 Years Ago Today, Ripple’s XRP Was The World’s Second Most Valuable Cryptocurrency

Exactly 10 years ago, Ripple-promoted XRP was ranked the industry’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value. As pointed out today by a crypto pundit, XRP held the position just behind the world’s largest and oldest crypto, Bitcoin (BTC). Back then, XRP had sought to establish itself as a safe alternative to other cryptocurrencies by stressing its connections to existing financial institutions.

Fast-forward to 2024. Many cryptocurrencies that existed 10 years ago have faded into obscurity, but XRP remains among the top 10 largest on the crypto leaderboard.

XRP As Crypto’s Number Two 

XRP, the cryptocurrency long connected to San Francisco blockchain payments startup Ripple, was once the market’s reigning number two asset.

In a recent post on X, crypto commentator Satoshi Club shared a screenshot of what the top 10 cryptos looked like ten years ago. Bitcoin held the first position with a market cap of $4.76 billion. At the time, the flagship crypto was valued at just $354.70. XRP ranked second with a $131 million market cap.

Other crypto assets, Litecoin, Bitshares, Dogecoin, Nxt, Peercoin, Maidsafecoin, Counterparty, and Namecoin, took third to tenth spots, respectively. Notably, Vitalik Buterin’s Ethereum had not yet come into existence as the blockchain was officially launched in July 2015.

XRP’s groundbreaking consensus algorithm, the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol, gave it an edge against Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) security model, as it facilitated seamless and near-instant transactions.

XRP reigned as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency until 2018, when it reached a lifetime high of $3.40 on Jan. 7, 2018.

XRP’s Resilience Amid Legal Hurdles

While XRP no longer holds the second spot, it is commendable that the token is still one of the cryptos in the top 10 coveted club despite Ripple’s years-long dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

XRP had long been the third largest crypto a couple of years ago before the SEC filed its suit in late 2020. The agency accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion via the unregistered sale of the XRP crypto, which they deemed a security.

In July 2023, Ripple notched a partial court win against the regulator when a judge ruled that programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors did not constitute securities. XRP momentarily spiked to become the fourth-biggest crypto by market value after the historic ruling.

The SEC is currently appealing the judge’s decision, with XRP occupying the seventh place.