Former Ripple board member Matt Hamilton has pushed back against XRP skepticism, claiming that MicroStrategy’s crypto portfolio would be worth twice as much as it is today if the company had invested in XRP instead of Bitcoin.
Over the weekend, tensions escalated between XRP and the Bitcoin community after Dr. Denmark, a surgeon and Bitcoin maximalist, attacked XRP. In his post, he shared a meme featuring a woman expressing disgust at the suggestion of investing in XRP.
As expected, members of the XRP community shrugged off the criticism and defended XRP’s long-term potential. They highlight its superior price performance over the years compared to other assets such as Bitcoin.
Since then, Strategy has continued to expand its holdings. A total of 640,031 BTC was collected, and the total cost reached $47.35 billion. At current prices, the company’s Bitcoin assets are valued at approximately $79.25 billion, representing an ROI of 67.37%.
Despite the impressive gains, Hamilton pointed out that Strategy’s portfolio would be worth more than double that amount if the company had invested in XRP instead of Bitcoin. This means that had Saylor chosen XRP, his holdings could have exceeded $158.5 billion.
Mathematics suggests otherwise
Notably, Hamilton’s estimates rely on the performance of both assets over the past five years, from 2020 to 2025.
Notably, the price of Bitcoin has soared 959% in the past five years, rising from approximately $11,652 to $123,442 at the time of writing. In comparison, XRP rose from $0.29 on August 10, 2020 to $2.97, marking a 924% gain during the same period.
These numbers show that Bitcoin has outperformed XRP over the past five years, suggesting that Strategy’s portfolio would be worth less today if it had invested in XRP instead of Bitcoin.
This forecast is based on current market prices for both assets. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $123,442 and XRP is trading at $2.97. However, it’s a different story when you compare the value of your portfolio using each asset’s peak price.
The value of Strategy’s crypto portfolio at peak Bitcoin and XRP prices
XRP has soared 1,162% from a low of $0.29, reaching a high of $3.66 in July. In contrast, the price of Bitcoin rose 978%, rising from $11,652 to an all-time high of about $125,700 as of October 5th.
This means that if Strategy had invested in XRP instead of Bitcoin during XRP’s recent peak, its crypto portfolio would have been worth more.
For context, if Strategy invested the entire $47.35 billion in Bitcoin at an initial price of $11,652, the portfolio value would be approximately $510.43 billion at Bitcoin’s peak of $125,700, for an ROI of 978%.
However, allocating the same amount to XRP at the August 2020 price of $0.29 would result in a portfolio worth approximately $597.55 billion at XRP’s recent peak of $3.66, reflecting a slightly higher return.
Nevertheless, experts like Matt Hamilton argue that Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings would have been worth more today if the company had chosen XRP instead.