Which Crypto to Buy for $5,000 and Hold for 2030?

With the crypto market pulling back, investors are once again weighing long-term bets in leading assets like XRP. 

Notably, XRP is trading around $1.33, down 5.3% over the past 24 hours, while Ondo (ONDO) sits at $0.2498, down 7.33% on the day.

If you had $5,000 to deploy today and lock away until 2030, which offers the better upside? Grok and ChatGPT both weighed in, and the projections reveal very different risk-reward profiles.

Key Points

XRP and Ondo Current Market Position

XRP remains one of the largest crypto assets by market capitalization, hovering at $82 billion, with deep liquidity and multi-billion dollar daily trading volume. Its all-time high stands at $3.65.

Ondo, by comparison, is significantly smaller, with a market cap around $1.20 billion and daily volume under $60 million. Its all-time high reached $2.14 in December 2024, while its all-time low was $0.082 earlier that same year.

At current prices, $5,000 would buy roughly 3,759 XRP or about 20,016 ONDO tokens. The lower entry price of ONDO naturally creates a larger percentage upside potential if bullish scenarios play out.

Telegaon’s 2030 Forecast

According to Telegaon’s projections, XRP’s 2030 targets range from a minimum of $16.86 to an average of $18.34. The platform expects XRP to peak in the year at $20.03. From today’s $1.33 price, that implies 1,168% to 1,406% upside.

Meanwhile, for ONDO, Telegaon projects 2030 a minimum price of $14.35 and an average of $16.43. It sees the coin reaching a maximum of $18.76. From today’s $0.2498 price, that translates to approximately 5,645% to 7,410% gains.

On paper, ONDO’s projected upside is significantly higher in percentage terms, largely due to its smaller market capitalization and lower current valuation.

Changelly’s 2030 Outlook

Changelly presents a more conservative XRP trajectory, forecasting a January 2030 price of $3.01 and a December 2030 price of $5.44. From $1.33, that would mean gains of roughly 126% by January 2030 and around 309% by December 2030.

For ONDO, Changelly estimates:

• January 2030: $2.49 (a projected 477.4% gain)
• December 2030: $3.37 (a projected 714.4% gain)

Even under these more modest projections, ONDO still shows a higher percentage expansion potential compared to XRP.

Grok’s Take

Grok’s analysis highlights XRP’s established role in cross-border payments and its ties to Ripple’s enterprise network. Regulatory clarity and institutional adoption remain key long-term catalysts. 

However, XRP’s large circulating supply of over 61 billion tokens may limit extreme upside compared to smaller-cap assets.

Ondo, on the other hand, is positioned in the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector. This niche focuses on bringing assets like U.S. Treasuries on-chain, a market some analysts believe could reach trillions of dollars by 2030.

Grok argues that if ONDO reaches $6 by 2030, a $5,000 investment could grow to roughly $115,000. At $10, that same investment could approach $200,000. 

Based on asymmetric upside potential alone, Grok leans toward ONDO for a 2030 hold.

ChatGPT’s View

ChatGPT takes a more balanced stance. XRP is described as the more mature asset, with deeper liquidity, broader exchange support, and stronger institutional narratives. Its growth may be steadier, potentially delivering 3x to 10x returns under favorable conditions.

Ondo represents a higher-risk, higher-reward scenario. While the RWA narrative is compelling, the ONDO token itself is a governance asset, and its long-term price performance depends heavily on adoption and tokenomics structure.

Rather than choosing one outright, ChatGPT suggests splitting capital according to risk appetite to capture both stability and speculative upside.

The Bottom Line for a $5,000 Investor

If you prioritize relative stability and an established ecosystem, XRP may offer a more measured path to growth by 2030.

But if you are targeting maximum percentage upside and are comfortable with volatility and execution risk, ONDO presents the more aggressive bet based on current projections.

Both assets remain highly speculative, and forecasts vary widely. For long-term investors, the decision ultimately depends on risk tolerance, conviction in the RWA narrative versus cross-border payment adoption, and overall portfolio diversification strategy.