New York, Jan 8, 2026, 17:18 EST — After-hours
- XRP fell 1.8% to $2.14, tracking a broader dip across major cryptocurrencies.
- U.S. spot XRP ETFs posted their first net outflow since launching in November, snapping a 36-day inflow run.
- Traders are watching Friday’s U.S. payrolls report for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next move.
XRP was down 1.8% at $2.14 in late U.S. hours on Thursday, giving back part of this week’s rally as bitcoin and ether also slipped.
U.S.-listed spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) logged their first net outflow on Wednesday, with $40.8 million leaving the group, led by a $47.25 million redemption from 21Shares’ TOXR, according to data cited by Finviz. Rachael Lucas, a crypto analyst at BTC Markets, said the reversal looked like “profit-taking” after XRP jumped to about $2.40 from $1.80 in a week, while Min Jung, a research associate at Presto Research, said investors have been “more comfortable taking positions in stocks than in crypto.” Finviz
The pullback came as U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs swung to heavy redemptions midweek, with $486.1 million of net outflows reported on Jan. 7, Farside Investors data showed, dampening appetite across smaller tokens.
Macro risk sits right on top of the market. The U.S. Employment Situation report for December is due on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, and traders are watching it for fresh signals on rate-cut timing after a run of mixed labor data. Reuters reported the Chicago Fed estimated the jobless rate held at 4.6% in December, and said markets were pricing about a 10% chance of a cut at the Fed’s Jan. 27-28 meeting and roughly 55% by late April.
Ripple executive Reece Merrick added to the policy chatter on Wednesday, writing on X: “XRP has secured clear regulatory status as a non-security digital asset in the U.S.,” while arguing the wider industry still lacks “comprehensive regulatory clarity.” X (formerly Twitter)
A separate regulatory filing also stayed in view. WisdomTree asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to allow it to withdraw its registration statement for the WisdomTree XRP Fund, saying it had decided not to proceed and that no shares were sold under the filing.
But flows can flip fast. If another strong U.S. data print pushes yields and the dollar higher, crypto could extend the slide, and traders said price action around widely watched chart levels could amplify moves.
What’s next is straightforward: Friday’s payrolls report and the next set of daily ETF flow figures. Traders are also watching whether XRP can hold above the low-$2 area after this week’s reversal and whether bitcoin stabilizes after the midweek ETF outflows.
