Survey: Japanese Crypto Holders Prefer XRP Over ETH

Despite the fact Ether is currently the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Japanese crypto holders may prefer to hold XRP. 

According to the results of a survey posted to Twitter by Japanese cryptocurrency exchange BITMAX on June 12, Bitcoin (BTC) is nearly as popular as the XRP token among traders in Japan. 25% of the 1,498 people surveyed told BITMAX XRP was their favorite coin, compared to 26% who preferred BTC. Ethereum (ETH) came in third at 9%. 

“What is your favorite coin?” BITMAX survey. Gold=BTC; Red=ETH; Pink=XRP; Blue=others

It’s worth noting that the small sample size like that in the aforementioned survey may not necessarily may not make the results definitive. 

However, the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) reported similar findings in December 2019. XRP was second behind BTC among the number of yen denominated digital asset holdings, with ETH also in third.

XRP losing support outside Japan?

Cointelegraph reported in April that online engagement towards XRP on Twitter fell in Q1 2020, while Ripple was forced to liquidate many of its holdings to stay cash flow positive. Crypto analytics firm Messari released data showing XRP was the worst performing large cap token in 2019.

The XRP token — $0.19 at the time of writing — is worth a fraction of its $2.28 peak at the end of 2017. While the XRP army may have shrunk overall, this may not be the case for Japanese fans of the token.