XRP’s price history and trajectory have always caused debates among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, especially when compared to Bitcoin’s growth. Bitcoin has soared more than sixfold in the past seven years, but XRP is still trading around $3.02, roughly the same level it was trading at in early 2018. This comparison recently resurfaced in a post by analyst Adam Livingston on the social media platform X, who pointed out that XRP’s lack of progress stands in stark contrast to Bitcoin’s 608% surge during the same period. In response, Digital Asset Investor, a well-known voice in the XRP community, explained that the stagnation isn’t a coincidence but the result of years of regulatory imbalance, one that is finally about to end. Regulatory Monopoly And The Bitcoin Advantage Digital Asset Investor’s post talked on what he described as regulatory capture, which gave Bitcoin a free pass from oversight while XRP was entangled in a five-year legal battle with the US SEC. According to the analyst, Bitcoin’s dominance in the crypto market was supported by a regulatory monopoly built on ambiguity surrounding its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Related Reading: XRP Price Completes 7-Year Double Bottom Amid Prep For Moonshot To $19 The analyst pointed out that even though there exists a video of a Homeland Security agent claiming to have met with “the four Satoshis,” regulators acted as if Bitcoin’s origins were a mystery. This, according to him, allowed Bitcoin to grow unchecked while other cryptocurrencies, including XRP, faced crippling restrictions. XRP was effectively frozen out of much of the US crypto ecosystem when the SEC filed its lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, accusing it of selling unregistered securities. Major exchanges in the US delisted it, and investors in the US did not have access to XRP. During this time, Bitcoin and Ethereum enjoyed regulatory clarity as non-securities and attracted institutional inflows and ETF developments that XRP could only watch from the sidelines. According to the analyst, this unequal treatment was not accidental but rather part of a regulatory agenda that kept XRP from participating fully in the crypto market’s growth phase. He noted that had XRP not been under legal attack, its price trajectory could have followed Bitcoin’s or even outpaced it due to its use case in cross-border settlements and real-world utility. Why Everything Is About To Change According to Digital Asset Investor, the tide is turning. He stated that upcoming legislation in the US is about to dismantle the regulatory monopoly that Bitcoin has long benefited from. New laws, particularly those addressing digital asset classification and market structure, are expected to create a level playing field for all cryptocurrencies, including XRP. “The regulatory level playing field that the Bitcoin Maxis have dreaded cometh,” he wrote. Related Reading: Analyst Says XRP Price Target Of $27 Still Holds – ‘The Ride Has Just Begun’ If this happens, XRP will not only close the performance gap with Bitcoin but also go on its own era of growth, as we have seen in the past year or so. XRP is no longer classified as a security, and the Ripple-SEC lawsuit is now finally over. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $2.97. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin has cemented itself as a trillion-dollar asset class, and institutional adoption is gathering momentum, and pressure on the world’s largest companies is mounting. What started as a fringe bet is rapidly turning into a strategic necessity. In a recent Swan Bitcoin presentation, Adam Livingston laid out a simple yet powerful case for why passive index mechanics will eventually force S&P 500 companies to incorporate BTC exposure the moment MicroStrategy qualifies for inclusion. What An S&P 500 Bitcoin Allocation Could Look Like According to the update on X, Livingston explains that once Strategy qualifies for inclusion in the S&P 500, the index’s rules will take effect. This is not about taste or ideology. Rather, it’s about floats, weights, and formulas. Related Reading: Institutional Bitcoin Holdings Near 20% Of Supply—Wall Street’s New Playground? When the index updates, trillions of dollars in benchmark trackers will follow. This means that BTC exposure will be piped directly into every 401(k), pension fund, and institutional portfolio that mirrors the S&P 500. The inclusion checklist is that Strategy now meets the exact criteria required for S&P 500 entry. These include passive funds like SPY and VOO that collectively move trillions and are compelled to buy new entrants, without questioning why a small initial index weight can trigger billions in inflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs amplify the same flows with the daily rebalancing. Also, a reflexive loop is formed when BTC rises, Strategy’s weight rises, and more passive capital resumes buying. Real-world proof from prior inclusions shows how fast the index effect drives flows, and miners, exchanges, and treasury-heavy firms multiply BTC. Furthermore, he emphasizes that this is inevitable and not an opinion. Once the Strategy clears the inclusion hurdle, passive capital must flow. Presently, the index system has no ideological filter, and it simply executes rules. For finance professionals, CIOs, advisors, and analysts who live and die by benchmark risk, it’s the plumbing that matters. For Bitcoiners, it’s a clean, shareable explanation for skeptics who dismiss adoption as narrative hype. Once the index rules are triggered, the passive system cannot ignore BTC. By default, BTC exposure will be distributed across global portfolios. Parataxis Holdings Joins The BTC Treasury Trend In a strategic move, Parataxis Holdings has just joined the growing list of major institutions allocating corporate treasury funds to Bitcoin. Parataxis Holdings announced plans to purchase up to $640 million worth of BTC. According to market analyst Cryptoclub520, this signals an increase in institutional confidence in the digital asset as both a store of value and a hedge against market uncertainty. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Macro Mirror: Global Liquidity Trends Hint At Bullish Continuation Additionally, the firm plans to deploy the funds gradually and adjust purchases based on market conditions to reduce volatility. However, Cryptoclub520 notes that BTC is becoming a serious reserve asset for investors. Institutional adoption continues to heat up, as more asset managers and corporate treasuries embrace BTC, marking a bullish signal for long-term holders. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com