A prominent crypto investor sold his entire Bitcoin position to go all-in on XRP, citing legal clarity and market potential. The move by Crypto X AiMan, who first entered Bitcoin at $3,000, has drawn mixed reactions from the trading community. He acknowledged the trade carries extreme risk.
What Happened: Full Bitcoin Exit
AiMan told followers on Dec. 5 he shifted his entire portfolio into XRP based on four factors.
He pointed to a July 2023 ruling by Judge Torres that found certain programmatic XRP sales were not securities. He said that decision gives XRP distinct legal standing in the U.S. market.
AiMan noted Ripple holds roughly 40 billion XRP, about 40% of total supply, which he said could support future payment deployments. He argued XRP processes transactions faster and cheaper than Bitcoin, positioning it for cross-border transfers. He also cited analyst projections that the cross-border payments market could reach $250 trillion by 2027, suggesting even 1% market share would drive significant gains.
"If I'm wrong? XRP probably goes to zero, and I lose everything," he said in his announcement.
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Why It Matters: Sentiment vs. Position Data
Market data shows traders betting heavily against XRP despite AiMan's bullish stance.
Coinglass reported $15 million in short positions versus $0.6 million in longs, creating a 96% short allocation and a roughly 25-to-1 shorts-to-longs ratio. Bitcoin showed $131 million in shorts against $70 million in longs, while Ethereum had $110 million shorts and $58 million longs.
Analysts say concentrated short positions can signal weak near-term sentiment but also create squeeze risk if prices move higher. The trade highlights ongoing debate over XRP's utility versus Bitcoin's $1.8 trillion market cap and established liquidity. Ripple's large token allocation raises centralization questions, and banks have not widely adopted public tokens for settlement.
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