Reasons Why ETH and XRP Reaching Record Highs May Not Be Noteworthy

Both ETH and XRP have approached remarkable all-time highs, only to face abrupt declines.

Last Thursday, Ether reached $4,788.55, bringing the second-largest cryptocurrency within reach of exceeding $4,891.70.

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Entering a price discovery phase would have represented a significant achievement, given that ETH has not been valued this highly since November 2021.

This would also have validated the efforts of ETH investors, who have faced numerous challenges in recent years. The excitement surrounding NFTs has fluctuated. The blockchain successfully transitioned from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. Interest shifted to Solana amid the meme coin frenzy. Additionally, the demand for ETFs that track Ether’s spot price on Wall Street had a rather lackluster introduction.

While the current pullback is relatively minor — bringing ETH down to the $4,300 level — two major obstacles hinder further advancements.

On Monday, Ether ETFs experienced the second-highest outflow levels since their inception last summer, suggesting that institutional investors are realizing profits. Concurrently, Bitcoin proponents have claimed that an “unstakening” is occurring. JAN3 CEO Samson Mow highlighted data indicating that 909,788 ETH is currently queued for exit — with a processing wait time of 15 days and 19 hours for claims.

The Unstakening continues. Soon to reach 1M in ETH heading for the exit. Wait times are also increasing. pic.twitter.com/3RnBDEyuPB

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) August 19, 2025

Currently, there are no ETFs tracking the spot price of XRP in the U.S. — yet. This may or may not change later this year. However, a similar pricing narrative is unfolding for the third-largest cryptocurrency.

XRP is currently holding onto $3, but just weeks ago, it soared to $3.65. To contextualize this figure, it is only 20 cents shy of its all-time high of $3.83 set in January 2018. The “XRP Army” — a dedicated and vocal group of investors — has been anticipating a new record for over seven years.

Nonetheless, some Bitcoin enthusiasts argue that the fiat value of ETH and XRP is not particularly significant in the broader context — and even if a new record price were achieved in cash terms, it might not be particularly noteworthy.

Pierre Rochard, CEO of The Bitcoin Bond Company, has been evaluating both altcoins using an alternative metric: their conversion rate to BTC.

On X, he recently posted a chart illustrating that ETH’s all-time high against BTC actually occurred in 2017, when 0.14 ETH could be exchanged for 1 BTC. He remarked:

“ETH is down 76% from its all time high in 2017. It’s unlikely to ever recover.”

The argument he is making is this: while Bitcoin has consistently surged to new heights with each cycle, ETH has struggled to regain its former status.

On the day of Ether’s last all-time high, Bitcoin was valued at $60,161.25 — and since then, it has increased by 91%. Had ETH grown at the same rate over the same period, it would now be priced at approximately $9,341.

The disparity is even more pronounced when analyzing XRP, which was the second-largest cryptocurrency in CoinMarketCap’s rankings in January 2018. At that time, Bitcoin was valued at $15,600, indicating a 637% appreciation over the past seven-and-a-half years.

So… what would have transpired if XRP had also increased at Bitcoin’s rate from its initial price of $3.84? Well, at the time of this writing, it would be valued at around $24.50.

Rochard’s argument is that both ETH and XRP have diminished in value relative to the world’s leading cryptocurrency — statistics that reinforce a frequently stated viewpoint among Bitcoiners that only BTC is the fastest horse. While both altcoins have shown impressive performance over the past year, the same cannot be said when viewed over a multi-year horizon.

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This will significantly influence the decisions of firms like Strategy and MetaPlanet regarding allocations, and helps clarify why Bitcoin treasury companies are now well established, while similar initiatives for ETH and XRP have not gained traction.

Dedicated altcoin investors will contend that both of these coins still possess substantial potential — and it is merely a question of when, not if, they will surge to new all-time highs.

However, a more relevant question may be this: can they maintain these gains, and what will Bitcoin’s value be at that point?

The post Why ETH and XRP Hitting All-Time Highs Might Not Be Impressive appeared first on Cryptonews.