NEW YORK, March 24, 2026, 14:15 EDT
XRP stuck close to $1.40 on Tuesday, unable to push higher after Monday’s modest rebound. Early U.S. hours saw the Ripple-related token trading in the $1.41 to $1.42 range, according to market data. That comes on the heels of a 1% rise the previous day.
Why does this matter right now? XRP is tracking along two distinct paths. On one hand, U.S. regulators have started handling it as a digital commodity—so, officially, the token isn’t classified as a security. On the other, the market keeps trading it like a classic high-volatility risk asset, with prices jumping whenever oil spikes or rate jitters flare up.
Bitcoin hovered near $70,489, with ether also steady on Tuesday, according to Barron’s. XRP, for its part, continued to track the broader crypto market, showing no sign of a unique driver for its moves.
Stocks and crypto snapped higher Monday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran shared “major points of agreement,” and put off hitting Iranian power plants for five days. But by Tuesday, optimism faded—Tehran publicly rejected that any talks had happened, chipping away at the relief rally from the day before. Reuters
Oil bounced sharply. Brent traded up $4.19 at $104.13 a barrel as of 12:06 p.m. ET. Nikos Tzabouras, analyst at Jefferies-owned Tradu.com, noted “the reality on the ground is unchanged” with the Strait of Hormuz still basically shut. Phil Flynn at Price Futures Group didn’t mince words, calling it a case of the market “back climbing the wall of worry.” Reuters
Rising energy costs pose a problem for crypto, since stickier inflation could force the Fed to hold off on rate cuts. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly cautioned there’s “no single most-likely path” for policy if the conflict stretches out. Money markets, according to Reuters, have now dropped bets on any rate cuts this year—they had priced in two before the war started. Reuters
XRP’s outlook in the U.S. has shifted, and regulators are now laying down clearer rules than just a few months back. On March 17, the SEC stated it aimed to provide “greater clarity” about crypto’s place under securities law. Not long after, the joint SEC-CFTC guidance effective March 23 specifically named XRP as a digital commodity. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said this move brings “a clear understanding” to how the agency handles crypto assets. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig put it bluntly: “the wait is over” for official crypto guidance. Securities and Exchange Commission
Still, demand has been uneven. According to FXStreet, open interest in XRP futures stood at around $2.39 billion on Tuesday, slipping from $2.87 billion seen back on March 17. Spot XRP ETFs—which hold the token itself—have managed just two days of inflows since March 6. FXStreet pegged total ETF inflows at $1.21 billion, with assets under management hitting $1.01 billion.
The price still drags some old baggage. Back in August 2025, Reuters said the SEC wrapped up its case against Ripple, keeping a $125 million penalty on the table—one of the sector’s headline lawsuits now closed. But judging by Tuesday’s trade, that particular cloud hasn’t cleared; it’s just been swapped for a new one: geopolitics.
The risk sticks out. Macquarie warned Brent might spike to $150 a barrel if the Strait remains basically closed through April, while portfolio manager Robert Pavlik noted investors are still guessing “where the president is taking this war.” Should oil prices push higher and bets on rate cuts fade, XRP could hold around here or drop alongside other risk-heavy assets. Reuters
Cleaner rules haven’t moved the needle yet. Even with newfound legal clarity for XRP, its price is moving with oil, interest rates, and the latest headlines coming out of the Gulf.
