XRP has spent years trailing Ethereum (ETH) in both valuation and narrative, but a new and controversial prediction is putting that gap back under the spotlight as attention turns from price action to market structure.

On December 17, YoungHoon Kim, who is widely cited as having the world’s highest recorded IQ at 276, said he believes XRP could surpass Ethereum’s market capitalization by 2026. The statement comes as XRP regains relevance following regulatory clarity, renewed institutional interest, and expanding network integrations.

“In my view, XRP could surpass the market cap of ETH by 2026,” Kim wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding a disclaimer that the view was not financial advice and encouraged independent research.

XRP price

At the time of publication on December 18, XRP was trading at $1.87, giving the token a market capitalization of approximately $113 billion.

Ethereum, by comparison, was trading near $2,852 with a market cap of roughly $344 billion, meaning XRP would need to more than triple its relative valuation to overtake ETH.

Kim attributed his shift in outlook to rising interest in XRP’s ecosystem, pointing specifically to recent integrations with Solana as a catalyst for broader adoption. He noted that interoperability and expanding use cases could play a key role in altering long-standing market dynamics between major layer one networks.

The prediction also marks a notable change in Kim’s public stance on digital assets.

Previously aligned with Bitcoin (BTC) maximalist views, he has since become increasingly vocal about XRP’s potential, framing the token as structurally undervalued relative to its utility and regulatory positioning, saying the token could “reach $100 over the next 5 years.”