New York, January 20, 2026, 17:16 (EST) — After-hours
- XRP dropped roughly 5%, slipping under the $2 mark within the last 24 hours.
- Equities took a hit as fresh U.S. tariff threats sparked a risk-off selloff that also spilled over into crypto.
- Traders are eyeing if forced liquidations will slow down and if tariff news quiets ahead of Feb. 1.
XRP dropped roughly 5% on Tuesday, trading near $1.89 and hitting a low of $1.88 in the last 24 hours, per CoinMarketCap data. 1
Markets shifted sharply into risk-off territory after President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs targeting parts of Europe, triggering Wall Street’s largest single-day decline in three months and sending bitcoin tumbling over 3%, Reuters reported. Investors are bracing for a heavy U.S. data slate later this week, including GDP figures, January PMI readings, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures report—the Federal Reserve’s favored inflation metric. 2
The crypto pullback seemed more like a broad leverage unwind than a story about any single token. Total market cap dropped to roughly $3.23 trillion, while liquidations hit around $875 million in the past 24 hours, according to The Defiant citing Coinglass. These liquidations happen when leveraged positions are forcibly closed after losses exceed margin requirements. Matrixport analysts noted that traders were “neither chasing upside through options nor aggressively hedging downside risk.” 3
XRP derivatives also faced pressure. Open interest—the total value of active futures contracts—was roughly $3.58 billion on Jan. 19, according to CryptoSlate, which cited CoinGlass. Liquidations hit about $42.44 million in the previous 24 hours. Funding rates, the small recurring fees that help anchor perpetual futures prices to spot, hovered near 0.0041%, the report added. 4
Macro volatility is dominating for now. The Cboe Volatility Index hit its highest level in eight weeks as tariff fears rattled stocks, Treasuries, and the dollar, Reuters noted. “It’s a typical response to geopolitical turmoil: pull back on equity risk, buy gold, hold cash,” said Alex Morris, CEO and CIO of F/m Investments. 5
Buyers remain active on crypto dips, at least when it comes to bitcoin. Strategy reportedly purchased about $2.13 billion worth of bitcoin over the last eight days, even as the cryptocurrency slid 3.6% and its shares dropped 7.4%, according to Reuters. “Stopping would be as much a signal to the market as purchasing more,” said Nic Puckrin, analyst and co-founder of Coin Bureau. 6
Ripple, the firm most closely linked to XRP, hasn’t revealed any new catalyst to explain Tuesday’s price jump. Since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its case against Ripple Labs in August 2025, the token has faced fewer legal clouds. The company was hit with a $125 million fine and an injunction on certain institutional sales, Reuters reported. 7
But XRP stays a high-beta play when news breaks and leverage piles up. If the broader selloff worsens or margin calls pick up, altcoins could tumble sharply; however, if tariff talk eases, they might rebound just as swiftly.
Traders are on alert for any sign of a way out before Feb. 1, when Trump has threatened to slap an extra 10% tariff on imports from several European nations. That rate would jump to 25% on June 1 if talks over Greenland fall through. On Tuesday, Sweden’s Board of Trade warned that Swedish exports to the U.S. could plunge sharply if the tariffs go ahead. 8
The immediate question: will liquidations ease and volumes hold steady, or will another wave of risk-off selling push XRP even further from the $2 level traders are fixated on?
