The top cryptocurrency that could surpass Ethereum by 2028, according to Standard Chartered analyst Jeff Kendrick | Bitcoinist.com

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure Since the cryptocurrency sector revived during the deep recession, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) function as number one and number two — if you will, Batman and Robin.

Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency, regarded as a barometer for the entire sector. In recent years, many have begun to perceive it as digital gold, which can serve as a hedge against inflation and a safe haven during geopolitical uncertainty and rising U.S. debt.

Ethereum, on the other hand, is perceived as the network that is the center of smart contracts and decentralized applications. While Bitcoin's dominance is not currently threatened – with a market capitalization of $2.3 trillion.

Standard Chartered analyst Jeff Kendrick believes that Ethereum may be vulnerable. According to him, there is one main cryptocurrency that could surpass Ethereum by 2028.

The Crypto Story of the Year

Ethereum and Bitcoin have had a strong year behind them – especially Bitcoin, which is increasingly integrating into the mainstream financial world with each passing day. However, neither of them can compare to the year that XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has had – as of July 31, its price has increased by approximately 400% over the last 12 months.

Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections in November marked the beginning of a series of positive events for XRP, particularly the change in leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

As soon as the Trump administration took office, the SEC quickly began to settle or withdraw key lawsuits – including the dispute with Ripple, the company behind XRP, which had long weighed on the token's value.

Now analyst Jeff Kendrick believes that the XRP rally is just beginning – and that it is even possible for XRP to surpass Ethereum by 2028. At the time of writing this article, Ethereum had a market capitalization of $460 billion, while XRP had $186 billion.

Kendrick bases his argument on the belief that XRP and Ripple will gain wider institutional acceptance and will bite off a larger share of the cross-border payment market.

Earlier this year, Ripple paid $1.25 billion for the acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road. Hidden Road provides institutional investors with a wide range of services, including clearing, prime brokerage, and trade financing in the field of currency trading (FX), digital assets, derivatives, swaps, and bonds.

Ripple sees this as a way to connect digital assets with institutional capital and payment systems. Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, also criticized this year the high error rate in cross-border transfers in the SWIFT system.

Which varies between 6–11%. SWIFT ( Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication ) is used by banks worldwide to send payment instructions, primarily for international payments. Garlinghouse stated that Ripple and XRP, due to their ability for almost instant settlement, could free up to $10 trillion in global transfers.

Currently, the XRP network is capable of processing 1500 transactions per second. Furthermore, Garlinghouse believes that XRP has the potential to capture up to 14% of SWIFT's transaction volume by 2030.

Kendrick predicts an XRP price of $5.50 by the end of this year, then $8 by 2026, and $12.50 by 2028. If XRP reaches a price of $12.50, its market capitalization will climb to approximately $740 billion. Currently, XRP is trading around $3.10.

Can XRP surpass Ethereum?

Given the exceptional volatility of cryptocurrencies, I would always recommend treating price predictions with caution. No one can say for certain what will happen. However, cryptocurrencies that have a strong technological network and real-world application are likely to see the most significant appreciation.

I consider XRP and Ripple to be a very interesting story, and the field of cross-border payments seems like an ideal target for a breakthrough in traditional systems using cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum differs significantly from XRP, but within its network, the largest stablecoins backed by the US dollar are issued, so it will also benefit from the increased use of stablecoins for payments.

Although it is difficult to predict the future unequivocally, I consider it unlikely that XRP will surpass Ethereum within a few years, especially since Ethereum may benefit from the increasing volume of payments through cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

However, I perceive both cryptocurrencies – Ethereum and XRP – as interesting projects with stable networks and I think that investors may consider purchasing both. Given the higher volatility of XRP, however, I recommend a smaller, speculative position instead.

New altcoin rising to promising heights: Bitcoin Hyper

While XRP and Ethereum dominate the headlines, among the newer altcoins a project is quietly taking shape that could shine in the coming months – Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER).

This token is designed as a Layer-2 solution for Bitcoin, but instead of traditional slow transactions, it utilizes the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) and ZK-rollup technology to achieve speed, low fees, and interoperable features that BTC does not offer by itself. The project focuses on adding smart contracts, DeFi, and decentralized applications to the world of Bitcoin – all without sacrificing security.

The presale of Bitcoin Hyper has started with huge interest. Within the first few weeks, it has already raised over 6 million dollars, reflecting strong investor confidence. Thanks to the deflationary tokenomics, active staking with an APY of over 150%, and planned exchange listings, many analysts identify Bitcoin Hyper as a potential candidate for exponential price growth.

If the project continues to develop according to plan and simultaneously maintains high public interest, it is likely that its market value will increase dramatically in 2025.

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