Finance

Trump’s SEC Shift: How Bitcoin Outshines XRP in the Post-Election Crypto Boom

August 20, 2025, 9:01 AM

A smartphone screen displaying a portrait of President Donald Trump is held in the foreground, with a large, out-of-focus golden Bitcoin coin in the background.

A photograph featuring a portrait of President Donald Trump on a smartphone screen, juxtaposed with the symbolic presence of a Bitcoin coin in the background, representing the intersection of politics and cryptocurrency. By Shutterstock.com / miss.cabul.

Executive Summary

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its appeal against Ripple on August 7, ending a five-year legal battle over the XRP token, following a shift in the regulatory environment after President Trump’s election.

XRP, the native token of the Ripple Payments network for instant cross-border transactions, was the subject of a five-year legal dispute with the SEC, which alleged it was an unregistered security.

Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a decentralized “digital gold” with a capped supply and regulatory approval for spot ETFs, leading the article to suggest it has greater long-term investment potential than XRP.

The Story So Far

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant tailwind following President Donald Trump’s election victory, which led to a notable shift in the regulatory environment, particularly with the nomination of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. This change in leadership reportedly resulted in the agency withdrawing from several active legal cases against crypto companies, including its long-standing appeal against Ripple regarding the XRP token.

Why This Matters

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s withdrawal of its appeal against Ripple, following President Donald Trump’s election and the subsequent appointment of a crypto-friendly SEC leader, marks a pivotal shift in the regulatory landscape for digital assets. This decision not only provides crucial clarity for XRP, potentially boosting its adoption and investor confidence after years of legal uncertainty, but also signals a broader, more accommodating regulatory environment for the entire cryptocurrency market under the new administration, which could reduce legal pressures on other crypto companies and encourage wider institutional engagement.

Who Thinks What?

The Trump administration’s shift in regulatory leadership, particularly the SEC’s withdrawal of its appeal against Ripple, is viewed as a positive development for XRP, which is designed to facilitate instant cross-border transactions.

Many investors and the article’s author consider Bitcoin a superior long-term investment, viewing it as a legitimate, decentralized store of value akin to digital gold, which has also garnered less regulatory hostility from the SEC compared to other cryptocurrencies.

Skeptics suggest that despite XRP’s use case within the Ripple Payments network, its long-term value is not guaranteed because banks are not obligated to use the XRP token, as the network also supports fiat currencies.

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant tailwind following President Donald Trump’s election victory last November, with the shift in the regulatory landscape particularly impacting digital assets like XRP. This change culminated in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropping its long-standing appeal against Ripple on August 7, effectively ending a five-year legal battle that had clouded the future of the XRP token.

The Case for XRP

XRP is the native token of the Ripple Payments network, an innovative blockchain-based system designed to facilitate instant cross-border transactions. This network allows banks to bypass traditional intermediaries, enabling transfers that previously took days to complete in mere seconds.

Ripple created XRP to standardize transactions within its network, allowing global banks to exchange XRP tokens instead of domestic currencies, thereby reducing foreign exchange fees. A transfer using XRP incurs a minimal cost of just 0.00001 tokens, a fraction of a U.S. cent.

Unlike Bitcoin, XRP is not decentralized, as it is issued by Ripple. This distinction led to the SEC suing Ripple in 2020, alleging breaches of financial securities laws by treating XRP as an unregistered security. A partial ruling in August 2024 indicated that XRP might only be considered a security under specific circumstances, but the SEC subsequently appealed this decision.

However, the regulatory environment shifted significantly after President Trump nominated crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the SEC following his election win. This change in leadership reportedly led the agency to withdraw from several active legal cases against crypto companies, including its appeal against Ripple on August 7, which concluded the contentious legal dispute.

The Case for Bitcoin

Bitcoin, often considered a speculative asset like other cryptocurrencies, does not generate revenue or earnings and lacks a specific “real-world” use case in the traditional sense. Its value is primarily determined by market demand and what subsequent buyers are willing to pay.

Despite this, a growing number of investors view Bitcoin as a legitimate store of value, akin to digital gold, due to its unique attributes. Bitcoin is completely decentralized, meaning no single person, company, or government can control it. It also has a strictly capped supply of 21 million coins, expected to be fully mined around the year 2140, and is built on a secure, publicly verifiable blockchain that offers full transparency.

These characteristics have led the SEC to treat Bitcoin with significantly less regulatory hostility compared to other cryptocurrencies like XRP. The agency has approved numerous spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), providing regulated avenues for financial advisors and institutional investors to acquire the cryptocurrency. Holding an ETF is generally considered safer than storing Bitcoin in a digital wallet, which can be vulnerable to hacks.

XRP vs. Bitcoin: The Verdict

While XRP offers a use case within the Ripple Payments network, the network’s ability to also support fiat currencies means banks are not obligated to use XRP to benefit from instant cross-border transactions. Therefore, the success of Ripple Payments does not necessarily guarantee a long-term increase in XRP’s value.

The source article suggests that Bitcoin may have greater potential for upside due to its decentralized nature. Its immunity from manipulation or disruption by any person or government is cited as a factor that should foster sustained investor confidence in its status as a store of value. The article notes that while some price targets for Bitcoin, like those from Cathie Wood and Michael Saylor, might be ambitious, a more realistic target for its market capitalization could align with the value of all above-ground gold reserves, currently estimated at $22.8 trillion. Such a valuation would imply a price of $1,085,000 per Bitcoin, representing significant upside from current levels, leading the source to conclude that Bitcoin might be a more compelling investment than XRP for the remainder of 2025 and beyond.