It’s a fact that Ripple’s XRP token has been performing well this week, but to claim that it has outperformed Bitcoin, as CEO Brad Garlinghouse has just done, is a bit hyperbolic.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has only succeeded in adding to the cryptocurrency tribalism that already permeates the scene by boasting that his company’s XRP asset has outperformed Bitcoin so far in 2020. This isn’t the first time he has made similar boasts either.
Ripple Better Than Bitcoin?
In a response to a Coindesk article on the lackluster performance of the cross border payments token, Garlinghouse tweeted:
Ahem… IS THIS THING ON… can I get a fact check on aisle CoinDesk?
XRP has outperformed BTC and the broader crypto market in 2020. XRP is up 44% (19.1 to 27.5) vs BTC's 33% (7,100 to 9,500) so far this year.#factsmatter https://t.co/KAdFqD93t1
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) February 5, 2020
While the figures he gave are accurate, the year is just a few weeks old. Garlinghouse is ignoring the fact that XRP was one of the worst-performing digital currencies in 2019.
Ripple’s token is down 10% from this time last year, and over the course of 2019, XRP dumped 46% to crash to a two-year low at the end of the year. Taking all-time highs into account, XRP is still down 92% from its peak, while Bitcoin has had a healthier recovery, down 52% from its top. Adding to this, Bitcoin has made a 180% gain since this time last year.
These figures paint a more accurate picture than the one Brad Garlinghouse is depicting.
Cryptocurrency Community Response
Naturally, the comment attracted a lot of attention on Twitter with the ‘XRP Army’ cheering on their leader while the rest of the community had some interesting responses.
Some pointed out how far XRP has fallen and that this minor pump is insignificant when looking at the bigger picture.
Ripple will always have its diehard fans but many of them are getting tired of the company’s token supply manipulation with its escrow wallets. Some were that irked that they even suggested hard forking the digital currency last year.
XRP’s recent performance has been driven by a partnership with Intermex, a Latin American focused payments service provider. The move will enable the fintech firm to utilize Ripple’s on-demand Liquidity product through RippleNet, the firm’s international network of financial partners.
It is likely that XRP will hit $0.30 again soon, but it has a long way to go before it can be realistically compared to Bitcoin in terms of performance.
