New York, January 5, 2026, 17:15 EST — After-hours
- XRP up about 11% in the past 24 hours, outperforming bitcoin and ether in late U.S. trade
- Traders are keying off the $2 level and nearby chart resistance for follow-through
- Focus shifts to the Federal Reserve’s January 27-28 meeting for the next macro cue
XRP jumped about 11% on Monday to $2.32, extending a broad advance across major cryptocurrencies in late U.S. trade. Bitcoin rose about 3% to roughly $94,000 and ether gained nearly 3% to around $3,236, CoinMarketCap data showed. XRP traded between $2.08 and $2.34 over the past 24 hours, with volume near $5.8 billion.
The move matters because XRP has traded as a higher-beta proxy for crypto risk appetite, often swinging harder than bitcoin when momentum turns. On the Investing.com Index, XRP was up 10.02% on the day at $2.3012 and has gained 22.9% over the past seven days. It remains about 37% below its July 2025 high of $3.66, the same data showed.
The rally comes as investors reposition early in the year after a choppy fourth quarter in digital assets. “Cryptocurrency markets are in the green as investors add digital gold to their portfolios,” said Petr Kozyakov, co-founder and CEO at Mercuryo. Analysts cited by FinanceMagnates flagged $2.20-$2.30 as a near-term resistance zone, with the 200-day exponential moving average — a long-run trend gauge — near $2.35. Finance Magnates
Institutional positioning has also tilted in favour of a handful of altcoins, even as flows into bitcoin products cooled. XRP-linked investment products recorded $3.7 billion of inflows in 2025, up about 500% year-on-year, CoinShares researcher James Butterfill wrote in a report published on Monday.
That kind of demand does not guarantee a straight-line move in spot prices, but it can keep bids under the market when momentum stalls. It also helps explain why traders have been willing to chase moves in “altcoins” — cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin — where liquidity can thin quickly and amplify swings.
Crypto trades around the clock, but volumes still cluster when U.S. and European desks are active. For XRP, the next test is whether buyers defend the $2 handle as the rally moves through different trading sessions.
But the setup is vulnerable if the macro mood turns. Global investors have warned that heavy AI spending could rekindle inflation and force central banks to pause or reverse rate cuts, a shift that can drain appetite for speculative assets such as crypto. A slip back under $2 would also raise the risk of a quick retracement after Monday’s jump.
Beyond chart levels, traders are watching whether bitcoin can hold its gains near the mid-$90,000 area and keep the broader market bid. If bitcoin stalls, smaller tokens such as XRP often feel the reversal first.
The next major calendar catalyst is the Federal Reserve’s January 27-28 policy meeting, which can reset rate expectations and ripple through risk assets.
