Dollar-Cost Averaging Into Bitcoin vs XRP Since the 2025 Peak: Which Crypto Held Up Better?

The CLARITY Act cloture vote on September 15 is XRP's biggest catalyst before then, though it leaves only 15 days to turn the quarter around. Cloture is the procedural step that allows the Senate to move toward a full vote on the bill instead of stalling it. If the cloture succeeds, XRP could rally toward $1.50 to $2, and the 819 tokens would be worth roughly $1,230 to $1,640. That would cut the 41.5% loss to about 12.3% at $1.50, or turn it into a 17% gain at $2.

Bitcoin's DCA Falls 16.5% Over 11 Months

A $100 investment in Bitcoin at $126,000 on October 6, 2025 would have bought about 0.000794 BTC, which is less than a thousandth of a coin. However, four days later, the crypto market crashed after President Donald Trump's decision to reignite trade tensions with China. That triggered massive selling, with over $19 billion in leveraged positions liquidated within 24 hours as traders who had borrowed to buy were forced out. The BTC price fell to around $104,500, reducing the $100 investment by 17.1% to around $83.

Then, Bitcoin made several attempts to reclaim its highs and failed, falling to $87,500 by year-end. Three months of buying at $100 per monthy would have put in $300 and accumulated roughly 0.00281 BTC, worth approximately $246, which is a loss of roughly 18%. Bitcoin then kept declining through Q1 2026, reaching $68,100 by the end of March.

However, those lower prices are where the DCA strategy did its work. Bitcoin recovered to $76,300 by the end of April, slipped to $73,600 in May, then fell to $58,600 by the end of June but recoverd to $60K before the month ended. The June low was the best buying month of the whole run, since a $100 investment would have bought more than twice as much BTC there as it did at the $126,000 peak.

Bitcoin's price now trades near $64,800, making the 0.01418 BTC worth about $919 and leaving the $1,100 with a loss of around $181, or roughly 16.5%. Bitcoin itself is down 49% from its peak, so the monthly approach cut that loss by more than 30 points too.

Which Crypto Held Up Better?

Bitcoin has held up better, with a 16.5% loss against XRP's 41.5% decline, even though the Bitcoin price has fallen further from its own peak. However, these two investments did not start at the same time, since XRP's buying began three months earlier and therefore covered three additional months of falling prices with an extra $300 going in.

Even matched over the same 11 months, Bitcoin still performed substantially better. XRP fell around 33.1% across its first 11 months, against Bitcoin's 16.5%. To recover the full $1,400 invested, XRP must reclaim $1.71, while Bitcoin must reach approximately $77,600 to recoup its $1,100. But XRP only needs $1.43 to reduce its loss to 16.5% and match Bitcoin's current performance.

That $1.43 is the number to watch, because it is just above the $1.32 resistance XRP last cleared in May, and the September 15 vote is the only scheduled event that could take it there.

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