• Ether outperformed XRP over the past 12 months.

• Ether still has clearer long-term catalysts than XRP.

• 10 stocks we like better than XRP ›

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) have gone in opposite directions over the past 12 months. XRP has declined 35%, while Ether has risen 27%. Let’s see why these two popular altcoins diverged — and if Ether will continue to outperform XRP over the long term.

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XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, is primarily used as a bridge currency for cross-border fiat currency transactions on Ripple, a blockchain-based payment platform. Ripple’s founders pre-minted its entire supply of 100 billion tokens before its launch, so it can’t be valued by its scarcity. The XRP Ledger also doesn’t natively support smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps, so it can’t be valued by the growth of its developer ecosystem.

Ether is the native token of Ethereum, the world’s largest blockchain-based developer platform. It natively supports smart contracts, and it allows its investors to stake (lock up) their tokens to earn interest-like rewards. Ethereum’s Layer 1 (L1) blockchain faces competition from faster, developer-oriented blockchains like Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), but it’s been using Layer 2 (L2) solutions to bundle L1 transactions and process them off-chain at higher speeds. Ether has a circulating supply of 121 million tokens without a supply limit, so it isn’t valued by its scarcity. Instead, it’s valued by its growth in active developers, which reached 31,869 in late 2025.

Why is XRP declining as Ether rises?

XRP’s price rallied sharply in late 2024 and 2025. Those gains were mainly driven by the end of the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple for allegedly selling its own XRP holdings as unlicensed securities. That lawsuit, which began in 2020, led the top crypto exchanges to delist XRP.

So when the SEC lawsuit ended with a lighter-than-expected fine against Ripple, those exchanges relisted XRP. The SEC also approved XRP’s first spot price ETFs last year. All those catalysts drove XRP’s price higher, but it eventually ran out of momentum. Unless more major banks or payment networks actually adopt XRP as a bridge currency, its upside potential could be limited — especially if it gets cannibalized by stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Ether outperformed XRP because it has clearer long-term catalysts. It’s still attracting developers and expanding its ecosystem with more L2 solutions. Looking further ahead, its three upcoming upgrades — The Verge, The Purge, and The Splurge — should boost its network speeds, reduce gas fees, and improve its overall efficiency.

I believe those core strengths make Ether a better cryptocurrency than XRP. XRP won’t fizzle out, but its entire future as a bridge currency depends on its price remaining stable — so it actually has a better shot at surviving if its price stagnates rather than soaring.

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Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.