New York, January 23, 2026, 06:30 EST — Premarket
XRP dipped under $2 on Friday, hovering near $1.91 and shedding roughly 2% in the last 24 hours, while the wider crypto market remained subdued. Trading volume reached approximately $2.2 billion, per CoinMarketCap data. 1
Binance is launching Ripple USD (RLUSD), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, while introducing an XRP/RLUSD spot trading pair. Trading started at 08:00 UTC on Jan. 22, alongside RLUSD/USDT and RLUSD/U pairs. The exchange is offering a zero-fee promotion on RLUSD/USDT and RLUSD/U trades. 2
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC he’s “very bullish” on XRP, going so far as to say, “I’ll go on record as saying I think we’ll see an all-time high.” He didn’t specify a target price, though XRP recently traded around $1.92 after hitting a peak of $3.65 in July, according to 9 .
Technicians have zeroed in on the $2 mark, with XRP hitting resistance near $1.97 to $2.00 after multiple failed breakouts, CoinDesk reported. 3
Binance Academy called RLUSD a 1:1 dollar-backed stablecoin, “fully backed” by segregated reserves made up of U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. government Treasuries, and other cash equivalents. It noted RLUSD is issued on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, with Ripple issuing it under a New York trust company charter. 4
Legal troubles continue to shadow XRP. In August, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had closed its case against Ripple, imposing a $125 million fine and drawing a close to one of crypto’s most watched legal battles. 5
Risk appetite shifted with the macro headlines. Global stocks gained Thursday after President Donald Trump softened his stance on Greenland and eased tariff threats against European nations, according to a Reuters report, but cryptocurrencies stayed flat, ignoring the relief rally. 6
Crypto custody firm BitGo surged 24.6% over its IPO price during its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 22, Reuters reported. This jump signals a potential revival for listings after a period of relative silence. 7
XRP faces a straightforward near-term challenge: will the fresh RLUSD liquidity fuel sustained demand or just spark a quick trade that fades? Weekend trading often thins liquidity and amplifies volatility. Historically, XRP tends to track bitcoin’s moves during these shaky periods.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Jan. 27-28 is next, a crucial event for rates and risk assets across the board. 8
XRP traders are fixated on the $2 mark for now — and watching closely to see if the new XRP/RLUSD pair can generate enough volume quickly to make a difference.
