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A Bitcoiner compares returns from investing just $100 in XRP at its launch with doing the same for Bitcoin, the premier crypto asset.
Bitcoin (BTC) launched and revolutionized the investing scene, delivering impressive returns to early adopters. However, as the crypto market matured, the advent of altcoins presented alternative options for investors who sought that early adoption privilege but had missed out on capitalizing on BTC in 2009.
Over the years, several altcoins have outperformed Bitcoin due to greater volatility, as BTC grows more into a more matured asset. Nonetheless, at its early stages, the story was different. Mr. M Podcast, podcast host and Bitcoiner, highlighted this in a recent disclosure, comparing returns from the firstborn crypto to XRP.
Returns of $100 Invested in Bitcoin at Launch
Mr. M suggested that investors who committed $100 to Bitcoin at its launch in January 2009 would now be sitting on $12.29 billion as Bitcoin price rose to $98,284. Notably, at a Bitcoin price of $98,284, investors with a balance of $12.29 billion essentially hold 125,045.7 BTC tokens.
Sunday’s Math.
Bitcoin vs XRP:Investing $100 in #Bitcoin at its inception (2009):
The investment would now be worth approximately $12.29 billion (based on Bitcoin’s current price of $98,284).Investing $100 in #XRP at its inception (2012):
The investment would now be worth…— Mr. M (@MrMPodcast) January 5, 2025
The podcast host’s commentary suggested that these 125,045.7 BTC was worth $100 at the time of launch in January 2009. This would put the value of 1 BTC at approximately $0.0008 then.
It bears mentioning that the price of Bitcoin at launch remains contested because crypto exchanges were nearly non-existent at the time to present accurate pricing.
However, recall that the first real-world Bitcoin transaction occurred in May 2010, when Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 BTC. This purchase was worth $8, bringing Bitcoin’s value at the time to $0.0008. Other sources claim Bitcoin traded around $0.0009 sometime in 2009.
Returns of $100 Invested in XRP at Launch
Meanwhile, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) launched three years after Bitcoin, in June 2012. Mr. M noted that if an investor had procured XRP with $100 at launch in 2012, they would now have $47,800 as XRP price has risen to $2.39.
With this valuation, Mr. M suggests that $100 invested in XRP at launch essentially procured 20,000 XRP tokens. This implies that XRP changed hands at $0.005. Like Bitcoin, pricing data for XRP at launch remains contested, but Coinlore confirms that the first rate detected by its platform was indeed $0.00589.
This comparison indicates that Bitcoin has a lifetime return of 12,289,999,900% while XRP boasts returns of 47,700%, making the premier crypto asset the better performer. However, since early 2017, XRP has outperformed Bitcoin by a mile. This also applies to their yearly returns.
For context, XRP is up 35,298% since January 2017. Meanwhile, within the same timeframe, Bitcoin has increased 10,406%. In addition, over the past year, XRP has surged 290%, outperforming BTC in the ongoing bull run, which has seen a 141% increase since January 2024.