The crypto sector has slowed down lately.
Despite enjoying many catalysts this year and a strong run following Donald Trump’s presidential election win last year, many cryptocurrencies have been in a slump recently and seen their prices decline significantly. XRP (XRP 2.53%), the third-largest cryptocurrency in the world, is now down 30% from its 52-week high year (as of Nov. 10), while Dogecoin (DOGE 3.25%), the original meme token, is down about 62% from its post-election peak.
However, many investors are still bullish on these two coins and have high hopes for both. Which is more likely to be a millionaire-maker?
Image source: Getty Images.
Dogecoin: A meme coin perhaps searching for more
Dogecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies, having launched as a joke with a Shiba Inu dog mascot in 2013. But close to 12 years later, Dogecoin is still a top 10 cryptocurrency by market cap. Dogecoin is where it is today because of a fervent community on social media and the ability to go viral. The coin and its network currently do not have much real-world utility.
Rather, Dogecoin tends to trade with the broader crypto market, which is heavily affected by macroeconomic factors and monetary policy. But after a crypto-filled year, investors may be looking for new catalysts. The regulatory climate is now much friendlier for cryptocurrencies, there are spot Dogecoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and investors now expect fewer interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve than they did earlier this year, so sentiment is not as risk-on as it once was.

Today’s Change
(-3.25%) $-0.01
Current Price
$0.18
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$27B
Day’s Range
$0.18 – $0.18
52wk Range
$0.13 – $0.48
Volume
2.1B
Avg Vol
0
Gross Margin
0.00%
Dividend Yield
N/A
Earlier this year, however, media outlets reported that the team behind the MyDoge Dogecoin crypto wallets had raised funding to reportedly build a Layer-2 blockchain solution, which would essentially create a layer for Dogecoin transactions off the coin’s main network, easing congestion without heavily increasing fees. The network would also supposedly incorporate smart-contract functionality so developers could build decentralized applications such as games.
If implemented, I would view this as a big plus for the network, which could potentially drum up a lot of activity due to its strong community. And that could drive up demand for Dogecoin tokens as well.
XRP: Huge payment potential
XRP runs on a strong network with the potential to process 1,500 transactions per second (TPS), making it ideal for international payments. Ripple, the company behind XRP, offers yet another reason for investors to be excited, as the company is building a strong bridge between the crypto community and the mainstream financial world.
Ripple has already built solutions that banks, fintech companies, and payment service providers can use to send instant payments, custody digital assets, and use stablecoins. Ripple also has a multi-asset prime brokerage, which many brokerages and institutional investors may find useful.

Today’s Change
(-2.53%) $-0.06
Current Price
$2.46
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$148B
Day’s Range
$2.44 – $2.58
52wk Range
$0.57 – $3.65
Volume
5.4B
Avg Vol
0
Gross Margin
0.00%
Dividend Yield
N/A
Recently, the company announced a new partnership with Mastercard and WebBank to investigate the potential use of Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, on XRP’s network for the settlement of dollar transactions through stablecoins. The hope is that RLUSD can conduct blockchain settlements between Mastercard and WebBank to make open-loop stablecoin payments mainstream.
While RLUSD is a different coin, XRP can be viewed as a bridge currency for RLUSD, and the transactions would happen on the XRP network. The more real-world payment cases there are for XRP’s network, the more XRP’s price should benefit.
More likely to be a millionaire-maker
Cryptocurrencies are tough to value because they don’t generate free cash flow or earnings in a traditional sense like publicly traded stocks. I think the best thing investors can do when evaluating cryptocurrencies is to look for those on strong networks and with strong real-world utility. Using this criterion, there is no doubt in my mind that XRP is more likely to be a millionaire-maker than Dogecoin. The support from Ripple and its growing ecosystem is also another advantage that most tokens don’t have.
Just remember, all cryptocurrencies are inherently risky and can suffer significant sell-offs in crypto bear markets. That’s why I would still keep most crypto positions smaller and more speculative right now. They could certainly pay off big, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about the sector.

















