XRP Set to Surpass Bitcoin According to US Veteran Predicting Market Shift

A retired US Army combat medic forecasts that XRP may surpass Bitcoin to become the leading cryptocurrency, requiring a significant price hike for XRP. This claim, made by Patrick L. Riley, has generated interest in the crypto community as he predicts a potential shift in the marketplace.

Key Takeaways

Patrick L. Riley, a former US Army combat medic, predicts XRP will exceed Bitcoin's value.
For XRP to achieve this, its price would need to jump from $1.41 to nearly $24.
Currently, Bitcoin holds the leading position in market cap, followed by Ethereum and BNB.
Riley believes XRP's rise could occur regardless of Bitcoin's performance.
Similar forecasts about XRP’s future have been made by other financial commentators.

XRP

XRP's Journey Towards Leadership

Patrick L. Riley, who now shares his insights on social media as a market commentator, recently declared on the platform X that he believes XRP is poised to overtake Bitcoin as the top cryptocurrency. He did not provide supporting evidence or a timeline for this assertion. This is not the first time he has voiced such a prediction; just last month, Riley estimated that XRP would ascend to the top within six years, regardless of Bitcoin potentially reaching $150,000 this year.

Moreover, Riley warned that if Bitcoin does not recover to that price point and re-establish its long-term trend line, it could plummet to as low as $1,000. Presently, XRP maintains the fourth position in overall market value at nearly $87 billion, while Bitcoin leads the pack at $1.45 trillion. Ethereum comes second with a value of $254 billion, and BNB is in third place at approximately $89.3 billion—just above XRP.

"I'm going to make two very not bold predictions.
1: This will not be a 4-5 week long war.
2: XRP will pass Bitcoin."
— Patrick L. Riley (@Acquired_Savant) March 4, 2026

To position itself above Bitcoin, XRP first needs to surpass BNB—requiring a modest increase of about 3.5%—and then Ethereum, which calls for a more significant increase of approximately 190%, elevating XRP to over $4.15. Ultimately, if XRP were to surpass Bitcoin, it would have to achieve a price around $23.70.

Since December 2019, XRP has fluctuated between the third and fourth ranks, frequently competing with BNB for the top spots.

Confluence of Predictions

Riley's projections are echoed by other voices in the financial commentary space. For instance, in August 2025, finance expert Coach JV suggested that XRP would clinch the top position by 2030, relegating Bitcoin to second place.

Additionally, in March 2025, Jacob King, CEO of SwanDesk, argued that the US government's decision to include XRP in its national crypto stockpile indicated that Bitcoin had effectively been sidelined. King stated that XRP's market cap would surely surpass that of Bitcoin, though he did not provide a specific timeline for this shift.

Riley's statement also coincides with the ongoing military conflict between Israel and Iran that ignited on February 28. The conflict has seen coordinated military operations by the US and Israel targeting Iranian leadership and assets. Reports indicated that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of operations, with Iran retaliating with missile and drone strikes against US and Israeli positions in the Gulf.

US President Donald Trump anticipated that the military operations could last four to five weeks but left open the possibility for an extended duration. Subsequently, Riley dismissed this prediction without elaborating on why he believes the conflict will conclude more quickly.

Image from Vecteezy, chart from TradingView