Former Ripple director Matt Hamilton reignited debate in the crypto community after claiming that MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin-heavy investment strategy could have yielded double the returns if the company had chosen XRP instead. His comments came in response to recent feuds between Bitcoin and XRP supporters over the weekend.
Notably, Bitcoin advocate Dr. Danish shared a meme depicting a woman giving a disgusted look in response to suggestions about investing in XRP.
I mean, if Saylor had bought XRP instead of BTC his portfolio would be worth over double. So you’d be in good company if making bad investment decisions.
— Matt Hamilton (@HammerToe) October 5, 2025
However, members of the XRP community didn’t find the meme amusing, pushing back by arguing that XRP has outperformed Bitcoin over the past few years. Matt Hamilton echoed this sentiment, noting that MicroStrategy would have doubled its profits if its chairman had chosen to invest in XRP instead of Bitcoin.
For the uninitiated, MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, holds 640,031 Bitcoins purchased at a total cost of $47.35 billion, with each costing around $11,652. At current prices of around $126,150 per BTC, the firm’s Bitcoin holdings are valued at nearly $80.74 billion, resulting in a 70.51% return on investment.
Based on Hamilton’s remarks, MicroStrategy’s crypto holdings could have surpassed $160 billion if the company had invested in XRP instead of Bitcoin.
Comparing Five-Year Returns of Bitcoin and XRP
Hamilton’s claim was based on the performance of both assets between 2020 and 2025. Over the five-year period, Bitcoin surged 982%, climbing from about $11,652 to $126,150. In contrast, XRP gained 948%, increasing from $0.29 in August 2020 to $3.04 at press time. The data shows Bitcoin outperformed XRP over the long term, contradicting claims that XRP would have produced higher overall returns during this timeframe.
Despite the data gap, Hamilton and other XRP proponents offered a different perspective by pointing to peak valuations. When measured at their recent highs, XRP’s growth from $0.29 to $3.66 marked a 1,162% rise, while Bitcoin’s climb from $11,652 to $126,198 reflected a 983% gain.
Based on these peak valuations, an equivalent investment of $47.35 billion in XRP in 2020 would have generated around $597.55 billion, surpassing Bitcoin’s $512.8 billion at its all-time high.
While Bitcoin remains MicroStrategy’s core holding, Hamilton’s calculation shows that XRP’s stronger peak performance could have placed the firm’s crypto portfolio above its current valuation. However, as of now, Bitcoin continues to outperform XRP on average market returns over the past five years.
The CoinRemark Team
