Could 5,000 XRP be Worth 1 Bitcoin in 2026?

Bird, a crypto influencer and well-known pundit within the XRP community, says 5,000 XRP could be worth a full Bitcoin in 2026.

The market commentator presented this during one of his X commentaries, feeding into the narrative that the price of XRP may gain ground against Bitcoin (BTC) over the next few months. “5,000 XRP will be worth 1 Bitcoin in 2026,” he said on Monday.

Notably, this matters for XRP because if the altcoin could actually outperform Bitcoin in the next phase of the market, especially with BTC also recording its own upward push, such a scenario would naturally translate to a greater price uptrend in dollar terms.

Key Data Around XRP Performance Against Bitcoin

• The XRPBTC pair, which tracks XRP’s performance relative to BTC, stood at 0.00002487 in October 2025, but has dropped 10.1% to 0.00002235 today, as XRP underperforms.
• During this period, BTC outperformed XRP in October 2025, but XRP flipped the switch to gain 4.15% against BTC in November 2025.
• This month, January 2026, the recovery push within the broader market has led to a further 6.52% rise for XRP.
• Amid this rebound, Bird believes XRP could rise to a point where 5,000 tokens would be worth 1 full BTC.
• At the current price of 0.00002235 BTC, 5,000 XRP is worth 0.11 BTC. 
• For these tokens to be worth 1 BTC, the XRPBTC pair must rise 794% to 0.0002. If Bitcoin maintains its $92,000 price, the 0.0002 value will translate to an XRP price of $18.4.

Why XRP Could Outperform Bitcoin

One reason pundits like Bird believe XRP could push ahead is that altcoins often take the lead in the second phase of a bull run. 

Once Bitcoin finishes its initial surge and traders lock in profits, capital often moves into the broader altcoin market. This rotation brings new liquidity, and tokens like XRP tend to see sharper moves because of their smaller market size and higher volatility.

Notably, the market often calls this “altcoin season,” a period when many altcoins outperform Bitcoin. As investors chase bigger percentage gains, money pours into assets beyond BTC, and XRP becomes a direct beneficiary. CMC data shows that the altcoin season index sits at 29. Values above 75 indicate a full-blown altcoin season.

Additionally, the XRP ecosystem has continued to experience bullish developments since last year. Specifically, XRP ETFs launched in November 2025 and have since recorded $1.23 billion worth of inflows. Ripple has also expanded its reach through partnerships, acquisitions, and regulatory progress.

For instance, just last week, Ripple secured an EMI license in the U.K. The sentiments that often come with these bullish developments could help XRP’s price prospects when the altcoin season fully kicks in, allowing it to potentially outperform BTC.

Historical Context and Important Caveat

If this ever happens, it wouldn’t mark the first time XRP outpaced Bitcoin’s growth. For context, during the 2017/2018 bull market, XRP soared 5,122% in the heat of the altcoin market. During this rally, XRP hit a peak price of 0.0002454 in May 2017. At this value, 5,000 XRP tokens had a value of 1.227 BTC.

However, past performances do not guarantee success in the future. Notably, since 2017, XRP has continued to underperform relative to BTC. While XRP proponents believe this trend could change soon, investors should note that there is no guarantee this will play out.