Bitcoin (BTC -0.30%) and XRP (XRP -3.62%) are two very different types of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, the world’s top cryptocurrency, is often considered a “blue chip” coin that is less volatile than smaller altcoins. XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple payment platform, is a much smaller token that has largely traded on the drama surrounding a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit over the past four years.
Over the past 12 months, Bitcoin’s price jumped 134% as XRP’s price rose 14%. Over the past five years, Bitcoin’s price surged 487% while XRP’s price climbed 116%. So is it smarter to simply stick with Bitcoin than to bet on XRP’s future growth?
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The differences between Bitcoin and XRP
Bitcoin is often compared to physical metals such as gold because it’s digitally mined through an energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) process. Its miners use powerful ASIC chips to process…
