XRP ecosystem creator Ledger, behind the DROP meme coin, is turning heads after predicting a pointed change in the relative value of XRP to bitcoin this year, seeing it as the beginning of a novel phase of “price discovery” for the token.
Bird, who posts under @Bird_XRPL, he wrote yesterday on X that “5,000 XRP will be worth 1 Bitcoin in 2026” and then explained his calculations with a specific price path in mind. “I said I think 5,000 XRP will be worth 1 Bitcoin,” he added. “For example, 5,000 * $27 (XRP) = $135,000 (BTC).”
While the post sounds like a headline-grabbing prediction, the structure of Bird’s claim is based on a ratio trade: XRP is outperforming BTC enough that 5,000 XRP can buy one bitcoin. Anchoring the example in XRP at $27 and BTC at $135,000, Bird successfully argued that the next market rally could involve a significant repricing of the narrative around XRP’s utility, rather than a elementary beta transition to bitcoin.
XRP is entering a “price discovery” phase.
The call came with a series of posts linking the XRP setup to broader risk asset conditions and upcoming macro catalysts in the US. Bird argued that “above $2.70 XRP paves the way to all-time highs and beyond,” presenting the level as a technical inflection point. “Take a breath. Be present. Remember this moment,” he wrote. “This is the end of 7-8 years of suppression and the beginning of true price discovery.”
Bird’s longer work, published on January 11, focused less on short-term trading and more on a personal allocation framework that treats XRP as a long-term lock. “XRP should be treated as part of life-saving plans,” he wrote, comparing the yield on bank deposits to the inflation brake.
“Most people keep their money in banks earning around 4-6% a year and feel comfortable doing so, but they rarely take inflation into account. Over time, the purchasing power of the US dollar and British pound, for example, has dropped so much, which means that your money often grows on paper while quietly losing value in the real world.”
He then positioned XRP as an alternative store of value tied to growing usage rather than fiat purchasing power. “This is where XRP comes in. XRP has been stifled by regulatory uncertainty for years, but in that time the technology has continued to mature. We now have clarity and can clearly see what is being built,” Bird wrote, pointing to “cross-border payments, institutional adoption, stablecoins like RLUSD, and real-world tokenized assets on-chain.”
Bird framed the trade-off as deposit and counterparty risk versus share growth. “Therefore, I personally treat XRP as a long-term savings tool rather than a short-term transaction,” he wrote. “You can look after it yourself, keep it in a cold wallet and completely eliminate your dependence on banks.”
Bird also linked the timing of his forecast to what he described as the convergence of market structure and major policy orientations. “This is an important week for XRP,” he wrote, citing CPI and PPI as volatility events and emphasizing that a cut in the US Market Structure Act is planned on Thursday. “The charts are leveling out. The macros are leveling out. If this tips in our favor and we clear above $2.70, an all-time high could happen very quickly for those using XRP!”
At press time, the price of XRP was $2.06.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
