New York, Feb 6, 2026, 17:05 (EST) — After-hours
- XRP surged roughly 25% to $1.46, after hitting a low of $1.13 earlier.
- Bitcoin jumped 11%, trading near $70,391. Ether also climbed, up approximately 11% at $2,056.
- Ripple said this week its Prime platform now supports the Hyperliquid derivatives venue.
XRP rallied about 25% to $1.46 late Friday, clawing back after dipping near $1.13 earlier in the session as the broader crypto market recovered sharply from a heavy selloff. Bitcoin jumped 11%, trading close to $70,391, while ether also added 11% to $2,056, marking a swift shift in risk sentiment.
Bitcoin snapped back after plunging to its lowest levels since October 2024 a day ago, a rout that wiped out more than $1 billion in liquidations across 24 hours, CoinGlass data cited by Reuters showed. Analysts flagged renewed jitters over U.S. monetary policy, especially after President Donald Trump tapped Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve. “It’s clear the crypto market is now in full capitulation mode,” said Coin Bureau co-founder Nic Puckrin. 1
Reuters noted a bounce on Friday, with beaten-down tech stocks and precious metals moving up as well. Still, caution isn’t fading. “Demand for downside protection is extreme,” said Sean Dawson, Derive.xyz’s head of research. He highlighted strong put buying and close attention to the $60,000 and $50,000 bitcoin strikes ahead of the Feb. 27 options expiry. 2
XRP’s action came off as more of a beta play, not really a standalone token narrative—its price tracked bitcoin closely while another wave of leverage rolled through the crypto derivatives market.
Ripple, the blockchain firm long tied to XRP, aimed to steer focus toward broadening its offerings. On Feb. 4, the company said Ripple Prime now supports Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives protocol. This gives institutional clients a way to tap on-chain derivatives liquidity and manage exposures across asset classes. “This strategic extension of our prime brokerage platform into DeFi will enhance our clients’ access to liquidity,” said Michael Higgins, international CEO of Ripple Prime, in a statement. 3
DeFi—decentralized finance—covers trading and lending on public blockchains, skipping banks and brokers entirely. Ripple has tossed around the term cross-margining, where firms tap one collateral pot for several positions. That approach can trim funding costs in steady markets, but things get complicated fast when volatility hits.
According to Binance, XRP notched a 24-hour trading volume of roughly $12.82 billion and hovered around a $89.11 billion market cap. Despite Friday’s surge, the token remained about 33% lower over the past month—underscoring a sharp shift in sentiment in recent weeks. 4
But the bounce leaves traders guessing—are we seeing real stability, or just a reflex after forced selling? Crypto has been twitchy, tracking the nerves that rattled tech stocks this week. With liquidity still thin, even a small fresh drop could get amplified fast.
Eyes are turning to U.S.-listed XRP-linked products, with traders scanning for any hints of steady flows. The Grayscale XRP Trust ETF (GXRP) has a fee waiver set to expire on Feb. 24, at which point the expense ratio jumps to 0.35% per the fund’s prospectus. That looming date is likely to put costs, trading volumes, and positioning squarely in focus. 5
