New York, January 14, 2026, 06:22 EST — Premarket
- XRP climbed roughly 3.7% over the last day, reaching $2.13 on around $4.7 billion in trading volume.
- Traders are eyeing U.S. lawmakers as a long-awaited draft on crypto market structure advances in Congress.
- Rules around stablecoin “rewards” are turning into a battleground, with banks and crypto companies each pushing competing proposals.
XRP rose 3.65% in the last 24 hours to hit $2.13 on Wednesday, pushing its market cap to roughly $129.4 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. (CoinMarketCap)
The rally follows renewed efforts by U.S. lawmakers on a draft bill aimed at clarifying regulatory boundaries for crypto oversight and defining when a token counts as a security versus a commodity. The proposal would expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s control to include spot crypto markets — that’s immediate cash trades, not futures contracts — and impose stricter regulations on some payments involving dollar-pegged stablecoins. (Reuters)
Banking firms and crypto companies are clashing over “stablecoin rewards,” a broad term covering interest-like payments or incentives for holding stablecoins. The latest draft proposal would prohibit interest or yield just for holding a payment stablecoin but still permit rewards tied to specific activities, according to Decrypt. “Stablecoins were originally seen as an alternative to traditional banking, but this draft proposal curbs the passive yield feature,” said Kadan Stadelmann, CTO at Komodo Platform.
Over 130 proposed amendments are making the rounds ahead of the Senate’s review, with several targeting stablecoin yield and decentralized finance regulations, CoinDesk reported.
Bitcoin surged past $95,000, while ether climbed over 6% in the last 24 hours, sparking a broad rally in large-cap tokens, according to CoinDesk data referenced by Barron’s. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins described it as “a big week for crypto” in an X post, the report noted. (Barron’s)
XRP, tied to crypto payments company Ripple, often moves sharply with changes in U.S. policy discussions. Investors continue to see legal and regulatory uncertainty—not technology—as the sector’s primary risk.
That Washington momentum lifting prices can just as easily reverse. Should the bill stall or the stablecoin debate spiral into a bigger clash between banks and exchanges, traders could see it as yet another setback — and crypto rarely waits around.
The next key event comes Thursday. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott announced the panel will conduct a markup session on January 15, where senators will debate and vote on amendments. “When we set clear rules, we give entrepreneurs the confidence to start companies,” Scott said. (Senate)
