Branded ‘The Flippening’ by market observers, this new hypothetical is defined loosely as the point at which competing blockchain networks like Ethereum (ETH), Ripple-affiliated XRP, and Solana (SOL) could replace Bitcoin as the largest and best capitalized blockchain.
So, will the event come to pass? One popular Bitcoin OG has boldly asserted that prominent alternative cryptocurrencies are never going to surpass BTC and claim the ‘king of the cryptoverse’ title.
Why Bitcoin Will Conserve Its Premium Status
Pierre Rochard took to X on Friday to elaborate why he doesn’t believe in terms of market capitalization and overall valuation that Ether, SOL, or XRP will overtake Bitcoin.
Rochard suggested that embracing the utility thesis of crypto will derail these altcoins. Case in point, the value of Ripple’s XRP is believed to increase if the token gains more popularity as a means of international payments. Ethereum, meanwhile, is the largest smart contract platform and DeFi, which largely lives on the second-largest blockchain, today holds vast amounts in total value locked.
On the contrary, Bitcoin’s price, as Rochard contends, does not depend on the number of people utilizing it for transactions. Instead, the foremost crypto’s monetary thesis comes from decentralization, censorship resistance, capped supply, as well as various network effects.
The staunch Bitcoiner claims that any renowned company will be perfectly capable of establishing its own blockchain and capturing the use cases presented by altcoins.
Could Solana topple Bitcoin? It seems insane to even consider, given that SOL is currently the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Notably, Solana has long been billed as the “Ethereum killer.” It currently boasts a market cap of just above $110 billion, while Ether stands at $519 billion, second in the rankings behind only Bitcoin. SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci predicted during the DigiAssets 2025 conference in June that “SOL will flip ETH.”
