New York, Feb 4, 2026, 17:06 EST — After-hours
- XRP dropped to about $1.50, deepening its two-day decline as traders pulled back on risk.
- Uncertainty around Fed leadership and a stalled U.S. crypto bill kept macro and policy issues front and center.
- Diamond tokenization tied to Ripple made waves in the UAE as a use-case, yet wider adoption remains stuck on regulatory approval.
XRP dropped 5.4% to $1.5020 in late New York afternoon trading, hitting a session low of $1.5018. The token has slipped roughly 7% since Monday’s close, alongside declines in bitcoin and ether.
Markets are selling off amid ongoing uncertainty over U.S. interest rates after President Donald Trump tapped Kevin Warsh to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The nomination is facing resistance on Capitol Hill, with Democratic senators pushing the Senate Banking Committee to postpone hearings. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Thom Tillis has vowed to block Fed nominees while a DOJ investigation involving Powell is still active.
Macro jitters are spilling over into markets. “Just a week ago, the outlook for the year seemed clear,” Robert Phipps of Per Stirling Capital Management noted, highlighting a shift in mood following Warsh’s nomination and renewed concerns over AI-driven disruption. Bitcoin slipped roughly 3.3% by mid-afternoon, on track for its sixth drop in seven sessions. Reuters
Policy uncertainty remains a drag. A White House meeting meant to resolve the ongoing deadlock between banks and crypto companies on market-structure legislation wrapped up with no deal, Reuters reported. The thorny issue around stablecoin rewards stayed on the table. “The White House continues to engage in productive conversations,” spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. Reuters
Ripple-related headlines have made little impact on prices lately. Billiton Diamond and tokenization company Ctrl Alt announced they’ve transferred over $280 million in certified polished diamonds on-chain in the UAE, leveraging Ripple’s custody tech and the XRP Ledger to create tokens linked to physical stock. They added that a wider rollout hinges on getting the green light from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The report also highlighted that important market details — including redemption processes and minimum lot sizes — are still vague.
Tokenization refers to converting real-world assets into digital tokens on a blockchain, a process touted for speeding up settlements and enhancing tracking of ownership and provenance. But often, it’s more of a buzzworthy pitch than a reflection of actual trading activity.
The near-term tape remains driven by macro factors. Should the dollar strengthen or rate expectations edge up, high-beta tokens like XRP could take an early hit—sold off before anyone stops to ask why, even with a “real-world asset” story in play.
Crypto trades nonstop, but liquidity dries up fast outside prime U.S. and European hours. That tends to make sell-offs more abrupt during risk-off periods.
Traders now focus on potential developments around Warsh’s nomination and whether the White House might revive negotiations on the crypto bill. They’re also eyeing key U.S. data releases: the Labor Department’s Employment Situation report for January and the January Consumer Price Index, both set for Feb. 13 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
