XRP (XRP) price versus Ether (ETH) reached its highest level in five years over the weekend, extending its recovery.

On March 15, the XRP/ETH pair touched 0.00128 ETH for the first time since April 2020. That amounts to a 925% rebound when measured from its all-time low of 0.00013 ETH

Relative strength in the price of XRP (XRP) versus Ether (ETH) reached its highest level in five years over the weekend, continuing the recovery in the smaller cryptocurrency.

The XRP/ETH pair touched 0.00128 ETH for the first time since April 2020 on March 15. That represents a 925% rally from its all-time low of 0.0013 ETH, hit in June 2024, and around 620% gains since November 2024, when Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election.

XRP/ETH weekly price chart. Source: TradingView

XRP breakout potential versus ETH

The rally in XRP/ETH is fueling speculation among market watchers that XRP could overtake Ether to become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

For instance, analyst Dom, known on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) for his technical analysis, highlights 0.0012 ETH as a historically significant resistance level, a threshold that has consistently preceded explosive rallies in past cycles. He says that XRP has gone parabolic after breaking this resistance, delivering gains of at least 160% in previous instances.

XRP/ETH 12-hour price charts. Source: TradingView/Dom

He demonstrated the same with three key breakout points—in early 2017, late 2017, and 2018 when XRP’s surges against Ether after a confirmed breach of the 0.0012 ETH resistance.

As of March 16, XRP was again testing this crucial level. If history repeats itself, even a partial 80% rally would be enough for XRP to flip ETH in market capitalization, DOM suggests, especially as Ether’s price risks more downside in 2025.

Related: XRP price poised for 46% gains after Ripple secures first Dubai license

At $138 billion, XRP’s market cap is less than $100 billion short of hitting Ethereum’s. What’s more, XRP’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) briefly outpaced Ethereum earlier this week.

For context, FDV represents the total theoretical value of all tokens, including those not yet in circulation, while market capitalization only accounts for tokens currently available.

Why is Ethereum lagging XRP?

The shift in market dominance has seen XRP’s rise by over 300% since Trump’s reelection on Nov. 5.

XRP.D vs. ETH.D daily price chart. Source: TradingView

The same period has seen Ethereum lose over 35.50% of its market share, highlighting a clear lack of interest among traders for Ether compared to other top-ranking crypto assets.

A key factor in this divergence is regulatory sentiment. Trump has positioned the U.S. as the future “world’s crypto capital,” appointing pro-crypto regulators and pledging to create a more favorable environment.

This shift has especially benefited XRP, which caters to enterprise users, especially as Ripple unveiled an institutional DeFi roadmap in February.

Meanwhile, Ethereum has slid due to rising competition from rival layer-1 blockchains, particularly Solana (SOL).

The Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which slashed Ethereum’s transaction fees by 95%, was meant to improve scalability. But it has also reduced ETH burn rates, increasing supply and weakening its deflationary appeal and “ultrasound money” narrative.

ETH supply rate since the Merge. Source: UltraSound Money

At the same time, Solana’s dominance has risen, with its trading volume now comparable to Ethereum and all its layer-2 chains combined.

The network’s faster and cheaper transactions have made it the go-to platform for DeFi activity, memecoin trading, and NFT markets, previously dominated by Ethereum. This shift has eroded Ethereum’s market share, especially among traders and developers seeking high-speed, low-cost transactions.