Top YouTuber Says He Missed Out on $130M From XRP

Prominent crypto YouTuber Mason Versluis has shared a missed opportunity from the early days of XRP.

His post on X, credited to a message from his father, revealed how a simple two-step strategy, executed with patience, could have turned a modest investment into generational wealth. Versluis’s story presented a lesson on emotional discipline in crypto markets.

The XRP Move That Never Happened

According to the breakdown, the family collectively invested $1,200 into XRP in 2017 at roughly $0.007, accumulating about 171,428 XRP. Data from CoinMarketCap confirms that XRP traded this low in March 2017. Since then, the market has not seen XRP at that level again, even after a lawsuit was filed against the coin.

From that March 2017 low, the coin entered a breakout phase that led to unprecedented returns for investors. Versluis’s post confirmed that when XRP surged during that cycle and approached its peak of $3.84, their XRP position would have been worth roughly $770,000.

However, the family didn’t realize this. Specifically, the first missed move was not selling near the top.

Falling to Rotate Into Bitcoin

Meanwhile, the second missed move was not rotating those gains into Bitcoin when BTC was trading close to $1,000. Based on the math shared, that capital could have translated into hundreds of Bitcoin. Had those Bitcoin holdings been held through the next major cycle and sold near Bitcoin’s October 2025 peak of $126,200, the total value would have exceeded $130 million.

Versluis highlighted that the real takeaway was not the numbers themselves, but how emotion and hesitation can override rational decision-making. The family already held XRP early, but fear, uncertainty, and second-guessing prevented them from executing the full strategy.

The core lesson he highlighted is that conviction and patience matter as much as picking the right asset early.

XRP and Bitcoin: Then vs. Now

This reflection comes at a time when both assets trade far below their cycle highs. XRP is around $1.92 today, still well under both its 2018 peak of $3.84 and its 2025 high of $3.66. Bitcoin is trading near $87,250, also below its October peak of $126,200.

Can You Endure Volatility After Investing?

For many XRP holders, Versluis’s post resonated because it mirrors a common experience in crypto: being early but not staying disciplined long enough.

As software engineer Vincent Van Code puts it, it takes mental resilience to hold XRP to high prices like $1,000 or $10,000. He stressed that most investors underestimate the psychological difficulty of holding volatile assets through massive price swings, noting that many would sell after relatively small gains.

In other words, it’s not entirely about seeing XRP under $0.005 or Bitcoin under $1, but being strong enough to hold through extreme volatility. Enduring years of crashes and swings, he says, takes more than luck. It requires an unusually stubborn mindset.

The Veteran Investor Who Cashed Out $2.5M From XRP After a Four-Year Hold

Earlier this month, The Crypto Basic reported the case of a long-time XRP holder who, after inheriting money and selling a family home, put their entire share into XRP in 2021.

Their portfolio quickly peaked at about $1.75 million, then crashed by over 80% to about $300K during the 2022 downturn. Despite fear and regret, they never sold.

Four years later, as XRP surged above $3, the investor exited the position, securing $2.5 million after taxes. Reflecting on the decision, the investor highlighted the value of patience and knowing when to take profits.