New York, Jan 22, 2026, 10:48 EST — Regular session
XRP dropped 1.7% in the last 24 hours, hitting $1.91 on Thursday and dipping below the $2 level during U.S. morning trading. It ranked as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, valued around $116 billion, according to 10 .
XRP’s recent drop puts it roughly 19% under its January 5 peak, with social sentiment turning decidedly sour, according to blockchain analytics firm Santiment. The firm tagged XRP as entering an “extreme fear” zone, their term for a surge in bearish retail chatter. 1
Ripple, known for its ties to the XRP ecosystem, announced Wednesday that its U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD will debut for spot trading on Binance. Support for Ethereum and the XRP Ledger is “coming soon,” the company added. Binance will launch with XRP/RLUSD and RLUSD/USDT pairs. According to Ripple, RLUSD is fully backed 1:1 by dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasuries, and cash equivalents. 2
Ripple President Monica Long took a wider view in a Jan. 20 blog post, saying that “In 2026, that investment is set to pay off” as digital-asset infrastructure evolves and more institutions shift from trials to full rollout. She highlighted that over 40 crypto ETFs debuted in 2025, emphasizing the space remains modest compared to the broader U.S. ETF market. 3
Macro risk remains a drag. This week, investors grew jittery as fresh tariff and geopolitical warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump rattled markets, pushing up volatility. Stocks, long-dated Treasuries, and the dollar all tumbled in the same session, Reuters reported. 4
Anthony Scaramucci, SkyBridge Capital’s founder, spoke at Davos about how policy uncertainty is driving market swings and steering his firm more into macro strategies. “Because of the volatility, the macro traders have done better,” he told Reuters. Meanwhile, bitcoin lingered just under $90,000 on Tuesday. 5
On the plumbing front, asset manager F/m Investments revealed it has filed with the SEC to track ownership of tokenized shares in its short-term U.S. Treasury bill ETF using a permissioned blockchain. CEO Alexander Morris said, “Tokenization is coming to securities markets whether we file this application or not,” highlighting 24/7 trading and faster settlement — perks crypto traders already expect. 6
Thursday delivered new data on U.S. inflation and consumer spending. The PCE price index, the Fed’s favored inflation measure, climbed 0.2% in November and was up 2.8% compared to a year earlier. Core PCE inflation also stood at 2.8%, according to Reuters. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady later this month. December’s PCE inflation figures will be released on Feb. 20. 7
The downside is straightforward: XRP can move sharply when leveraged positions unwind, and breaking key round-number levels often triggers forced selling. Teucrium, operator of a leveraged XRP-linked ETF, notes its XXRP fund resets exposure daily and “is not designed for long-term holding,” with a roll window kicking off Jan. 23. 8
Traders in crypto and risk assets are zeroing in on the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting set for Jan. 27-28, a key moment to adjust bets on interest rates, growth, and fresh signals from Washington. 9
