Expert: Those Who Bought Oil 12 Days Ago Now Seeing More Gains Than XRP Holders Over the Last 8 Years

Market data shows that investors who bought oil 12 days ago have now outperformed XRP holders over the last eight years.

Notably, this is largely due to the market impact of the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, which has exerted additional pressure on crypto assets such as Bitcoin and XRP, while leading to a spike in oil prices. As a result, over the past 12 days, WTI, a grade of oil, has increased 57%, while XRP has dropped 5.59%.

Key Points

• The Israel-Iran conflict has exerted additional pressure on crypto assets, leading to a drop in crypto prices, while oil prices spike.
• The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price shot up to $119 earlier today, representing its highest value in nearly four years.
• While the WTI price has increased 57% over the past 12 days, coinciding with the start of the war, XRP has dropped 5.59% within the same period.
• With the recent rise in the WTI price, data shows that those who bought oil 12 days ago now see more gains than investors who have held XRP in the last eight years.
• However, the situation is a bit trickier, as XRP has outperformed oil on other timeframes, including the 2-year period.

Israel-Iran War Sends Oil Prices Up

Bong, a Solana community pundit with affiliations to Solcasino, shared this data as oil prices spike. Notably, the recent escalation of the Israel–Iran conflict after joint strikes by the United States and Israel on targets in Iran, including nuclear-related sites, followed by Iranian retaliation, has had a strong impact on global oil prices. 

Tensions in the Middle East, a major region for energy production, have raised concerns about possible supply disruptions. Much of the worry focuses on the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

During the conflict, WTI crude oil prices have experienced increased volatility. WTI rose from about $65 per barrel on Feb. 27, 2026, to around $75 before dropping 6% on March 2. Prices later rebounded as the conflict continued, briefly reaching a four-year high of $119 earlier today.

The market then pulled back, with WTI falling 12.59% today to around $102 per barrel. Even after the latest drop, oil prices are still up about 57% since the conflict began, with several trading sessions showing gains of 4% to 15% as attacks on ships, shipping disruptions, and rising insurance costs affected the market.

XRP’s Downturn Puts Oil Ahead

Meanwhile, the response from the broader crypto market has been more unfavorable, especially as the conflict comes during a rough period for crypto prices. After initially collapsing to $1.27 immediately after the conflict began, XRP recovered along with the rest of the market, hitting a high of $1.47 by March 4.

However, it appears to have begun relinquishing these gains, recording four consecutive intraday losses since March 5, and trading at around $1.35 as of press time. While oil prices have spiked 57% since the conflict started, XRP has dropped 5.59% within the same period.

Amid the recent performance, Bong stressed that investors who bought oil just 12 days ago have actually outperformed XRP holders who purchased the crypto token eight years ago and continued to hold until now.

For context, if an investor had committed $20,000 into oil when the conflict began 12 days ago, they would have scooped up 307 barrels. Today, those 307 barrels are worth $31,384 at the current price of $102 per barrel. At the time of Bong’s disclosure, a barrel stood at $111, translating to $34,153 or $14,153 in profit within two weeks.

Meanwhile, investors who bought $20,000 in XRP exactly eight years ago on March 8, 2018, amassed 23,529 tokens, as XRP stood at $0.85. Today, with XRP changing hands at $1.35, these tokens hold a worth of $31,764. While this represents a slightly higher ROI compared to oil at press time, XRP’s returns were over $2,000 short when Bong made his assessment.

Context Matters

However, the Solana community figure picked a period that seemed highly favorable to his criticism of XRP’s performance. When considering other timeframes, XRP has held up better than oil. 

For instance, since it began trading in August 2013, XRP has delivered 22,781% in returns despite the ongoing struggles. Meanwhile, WTI oil prices have dropped 4.6% within the same period, showing a large gap in performance. Also, over the past two years, XRP has increased 132%, while oil has risen 31%.