XRP Stands Out With 89% Gain as BTC, ETH, CD20 Fall to Muted Returns Over 365 Days

The recent crypto swoon has pushed bitcoin BTC$95,864.78, ether ETH$3,208.21, and major CoinDesk indices down to the point where they’re posting muted or negative returns over the past 365 days – an unenviable position that only XRP has managed to avoid.

As of Sunday, payments-focused XRP was up 89% over the past 365 days, significantly outshining the modest 3.6% gains posted by both bitcoin and the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index, according to CoinDesk data.

The CoinDesk 5 Index was up just over 2%, making it the only other winner, while ether saw a flat 2% gain. Meanwhile, rivals like solana SOL$142.33 and ADA$0.4952 suffered steep losses, both down more than 36%. The CoinDesk Meme Index posted the worst performance, down 78%, reflecting the heavy toll taken by the riskiest corners of the crypto market.

XRP is also the only major token to boast a positive year-to-date gain.

What makes XRP’s outperformance more impressive is that its price is down 36% from the record high of over $3.6, registered four months ago. BTC, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has also dropped 24% since reaching a peak of over $126,000 on Oct. 8.

Several catalysts, including regulatory developments, have contributed to XRP’s outperformance.

The resolution of the SEC lawsuit against Ripple, the fintech firm that uses XRP to facilitate cross-border transactions, was a major milestone, removing a significant legal barrier that had clouded XRP’s adoption prospects in the U.S. This cleared the way for increased institutional participation and is seen as a critical turning point for XRP’s mainstream adoption.

On the tech front, Ripple’s rollout of the XRPL EVM sidechain and Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, which has reached a market cap of $1 billion within a year of its December 2024 launch, has expanded XRP’s use case beyond payments and into DeFi applications.

Ripple’s strategic partnerships in key regions, such as the Middle East, and its U.S. banking license application have further strengthened XRP’s appeal, as evident from the debut of Canary Capital’s spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. last week. The fund debuted with the highest day-one volume for any ETF this year.

Leading industry observers are confident that XRP ETFs will be hugely successful in drawing demand from institutional investors.

“I think it would be a huge, huge product. There’s a ton of interest in XRP,” asset manager Bitwise’s CEO Hunter Horsley told CoinDesk TV. “There’s a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and interest around it,”

Horsley explained that over $100 trillion is currently sitting on traditional financial rails, and more of that is migrating onto-chain. An ETF is often the first time many of those assets can access exposure to a new asset. “If investors have the chance to trade and gain exposure to XRP, it will be a highly useful and in-demand product,” he said.

There’s an old saying: there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and that definitely applies to XRP.

While the token has outperformed several major cryptocurrencies, it has also been among the most volatile, according to CoinDesk data.

XRP’s annualized 365-day volatility stands at 91%, compared to bitcoin’s 44%. The only assets with higher volatility are the CoinDesk Meme Index at 115.85% and cardano at 100.55%.

However, with growing institutional interest and potential ETF approvals on the horizon, XRP’s volatility may ease as it attracts more stable, long-term capital.