New York, January 21, 2026, 10:34 ET — Regular session
- XRP held steady below $2 following a steep drop over the past two days
- Binance announced the launch date for Ripple’s new dollar-pegged RLUSD and introduced an XRP/RLUSD trading pair
- Risk appetite stays shaky following tariff news that unsettled broader markets
XRP climbed roughly 1% to about $1.94 on Wednesday, bouncing back after a roughly 10% drop over the last week. Traders balanced optimism over a new Binance listing linked to Ripple against a shaky broader market. 1
This move matters because stablecoins—tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar—serve as the backbone of crypto trading. Binance announced it will list Ripple USD (RLUSD) and launch an XRP/RLUSD spot pair on Thursday, offering traders a direct path to trade XRP without routing through bitcoin or ether first. 2
Ripple, known for its ties to XRP and the XRP Ledger network, described the Binance listing as a key liquidity move for RLUSD. The stablecoin will debut with Ethereum support, while XRP Ledger integration is “coming soon,” the company said. RLUSD is backed 1:1 by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries, and cash equivalents, with monthly attestations. 3
Crypto has acted like a risk asset this week, which has made dip-buying more cautious. “It’s a pretty standard reaction to geopolitical turmoil: pull equity risk off the table, buy gold, buy cash,” said Alex Morris, CEO and CIO of F/m Investments, as volatility surged following U.S. tariff threats against Europe. 4
Bitcoin held steady just below $90,065, with ether around $2,994. Both dipped from earlier levels, as most major tokens wrestled to bounce back following this week’s sell-off.
XRP’s trading has been volatile. It dropped roughly 4.9% Tuesday and hovered between $1.88 and $1.95 on Wednesday, per data from Investing.com. 5
Ripple President Monica Long, focusing beyond short-term fluctuations, highlighted a broader institutional momentum. “After one of crypto’s most exciting years (and Ripple’s), the industry is entering its production era,” Long tweeted, according to Crypto Briefing. 6
Binance announced that RLUSD spot trading will kick off at 08:00 UTC on Jan. 22, with withdrawals launching a day later on Jan. 23. The exchange will also offer a zero-fee promotion on two RLUSD pairs. However, trading in these pairs will be restricted in several jurisdictions, including the United States. 2
But the immediate risk is straightforward: launching a new stablecoin pair doesn’t automatically boost demand for XRP. Should macro pressures intensify, or if traders remain cautious following recent tariff news, liquidity could dry up fast. Sentiment shifts tend to hit altcoins harder than bitcoin in those scenarios.
All eyes now turn to whether the XRP/RLUSD pair pulls in significant volume when trading kicks off on Thursday, and if the wider risk appetite in stocks and bonds eases enough for crypto to rally on its own, rather than on short-covering pressure.
