New York, January 28, 2026, 17:02 (EST) — After-hours trading
- XRP held close to $1.91, trading within a narrow range between $1.89 and $1.94.
- The Fed left rates unchanged, leaving macro traders fixated on future moves in U.S. borrowing costs.
- Washington faces its next hurdle with a White House meeting on crypto market regulations and stablecoins scheduled for Feb. 2.
XRP hovered near $1.91 late Wednesday, dipping roughly 0.3% in the past 24 hours after fluctuating between $1.89 and $1.94. Trading volume held steady, with $2.33 billion worth of XRP exchanged over the day, according to CoinMarketCap data. (CoinMarketCap)
That tight range still counts because traders are viewing XRP less as an isolated play and more as a rate-sensitive risk asset. Shifts in U.S. policy — whether from the Fed or Capitol Hill — have been jolting crypto sentiment in sudden waves.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, highlighting persistent inflation but providing scant clues on when rate cuts could restart. Tim Holland, chief investment officer at Orion, described the session as “a non-event,” leaving markets eager for a fresh spark. (Reuters)
In Washington, the White House has scheduled a meeting on Feb. 2 with top executives from banks and the crypto sector, aiming to break the deadlock over the Senate’s “Clarity Act,” according to three industry sources cited by Reuters. The core issue: whether crypto firms can pay interest or other incentives on dollar-pegged stablecoin holdings. Standard Chartered projects stablecoins could siphon off around $500 billion in deposits from U.S. banks by the end of 2028. Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said the group was “proud to participate,” while Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone praised the White House for “pulling all sides to the negotiating table.” (Reuters)
The legislative drive has extended into the SEC’s crypto task force circle. In a letter posted on the agency’s website, lawyer Teresa Goody Guillén sided with Ripple, arguing that frameworks considering a “passive economic interest” sufficient to activate securities laws risk confusing speculation with actual investor rights. (SEC)
Ripple, the firm best known for XRP, set a near-term date Wednesday: XRP Community Day is back on Feb. 11. The event will dive into regulated products, ETFs, and “wrapped” XRP — tokens that replicate XRP on other blockchains — plus talks on DeFi, covering blockchain lending and trading. (Ripple)
Traders are focused on price action. XRP keeps slipping back to the low-$1.90s, with the $2 mark looming as the next clear hurdle if it can gather momentum.
Crypto continues to carry a hefty policy and enforcement risk premium that can shift abruptly. Chainalysis reported that money launderers moved at least $82 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2025—a figure regulators frequently use to push for stricter regulations. (Reuters)
XRP still carries legal wounds from years of disputes over whether its token sales qualify as securities transactions. A U.S. judge ruled that XRP itself isn’t a security when traded blindly on secondary platforms—a ruling that’s been referenced in cases involving XRP-related products. (Reuters)
Traders are gearing up for Monday’s White House meeting, looking for clues on whether the Clarity Act will gain traction — and if the battle over stablecoin “rewards” will ease or escalate. Ripple’s Feb. 11 event looms as the next key moment on the XRP calendar, promising updates that might change the story, even if the price remains stuck.
