New York, January 18, 2026, 12:24 EST — The market has closed.
- XRP slipped roughly 1.4% on Sunday, trailing behind bitcoin and ether.
- U.S. stock markets will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a holiday that often leads to thinner liquidity when trading resumes Tuesday.
- Policy updates and ETF news continue to drive the swings in XRP sentiment as the new week approaches.
XRP dipped on Sunday, ending near $2.0507, down roughly 1.4% after trading between $2.0463 and $2.0674. Bitcoin slipped about 0.2%, while ether edged up around 0.4%, putting XRP behind other large-cap cryptos.
The shift comes just before a U.S. holiday, with NYSE markets shut on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Crypto, which never pauses, faces a different challenge: U.S. cash-market desks fall silent, setting the stage for potentially sharper price swings when trading resumes Tuesday.
The next key date is Davos. The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting is set for January 19–23 in Davos-Klosters. Comments on trade and regulation during that week often rattle markets.
In Washington, a crypto market-structure bill faces a short-term setback following a chaotic delay. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange can’t support the Senate draft as it stands, adding: “We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.” Reuters
Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, who announced the delay, emphasized that “everyone remains at the table working in good faith.” The looming bill debate has brought stablecoins into sharper focus—these crypto tokens typically pegged to the dollar—and raised questions about whether companies should be permitted to offer yields or “rewards” on customer balances. Senate Banking Committee
The ETF route remains the most straightforward way for traditional investors to access XRP. Franklin Templeton’s Franklin XRP ETF (ticker XRPZ) trades on NYSE Arca, with a 0.19% gross sponsor fee — the yearly charge calculated as a percentage of assets.
Standard Chartered insists these spot products carry more weight than the usual market noise. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s analyst, told clients that “XRP is uniquely positioned at the heart of one of the fastest-growing use cases for digital assets — facilitation of cross-border and cross-currency payments,” according to a Nasdaq report. Kendrick also projects spot XRP ETF inflows between $4 billion and $8 billion in year one, with XRP hitting $12.50 by 2028. Nasdaq
But the action has felt more like a liquidity issue than anything tied to fundamentals. XRP has been slipping in recent sessions, and with the market thin over the weekend, even small trades can appear amplified.
The risk for bulls is clear: regulation remains stalled, ETF demand falls short, and traders once more dismiss the rally story. When a wider risk-off shock hits—marked by rising yields, a stronger dollar, and spiking equity volatility—smaller tokens usually take the first hit.
The upcoming U.S. trading week will be shorter due to Monday’s holiday, with focus divided between politics and central bank moves. On January 21, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in President Donald Trump’s attempt to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The Fed’s next policy meeting follows shortly after, scheduled for January 27–28.
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