New York, Jan 7, 2026, 13:49 EST — Regular session
- XRP down about 2.2% at $2.19; it traded between $2.19 and $2.32
- WisdomTree asked U.S. regulators to withdraw registration for a proposed XRP fund
- U.S. jobs data drove yields lower; traders now look to Friday’s payrolls report
XRP fell on Wednesday after the sponsor of the proposed WisdomTree XRP Fund asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw its registration statement, saying it had decided not to proceed “at this time” and that no shares had been sold. The token was down about 2.2% at $2.19 by 1:49 p.m. EST, after touching $2.32 earlier in the day. 1
The pullback lands as crypto trades more like a risk asset again, tracking shifts in rates and equity sentiment rather than idiosyncratic blockchain headlines. On Wall Street, investors were weighing fresh labor-market readings ahead of a closely watched U.S. jobs report later this week. 2
Data on job openings added to the cautious tone. U.S. job openings, a gauge of labor demand in the Labor Department’s JOLTS report, fell to 7.146 million by the end of November, below economists’ forecast of 7.60 million, a Reuters poll showed. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report to show a gain of about 60,000 jobs in December. 3
A separate read on hiring by private employers also missed expectations. ADP’s estimate of private payroll growth showed 41,000 jobs added in December, below a forecast 47,000, after a revised drop in November. “The visual signal from today’s headline is that jobs were gained in December, but at a relatively slow pace,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said. 4
The ETF story is still cutting two ways for crypto prices. Morgan Stanley filed this week for exchange-traded funds tied to bitcoin and solana, a move that underscored how traditional finance is pushing deeper into regulated crypto products, even as competition in the category intensifies. “A bank entering the crypto ETF market adds legitimacy to it, and others could follow,” Bryan Armour, an ETF analyst at Morningstar, said. 5
Crypto-linked stocks were mixed. Strategy, the biggest corporate holder of bitcoin, rose after MSCI shelved a plan to exclude so-called digital asset treasury companies from its indexes, easing what one analyst called a near-term technical risk for crypto-exposed equities. “While this decision does not resolve longer-term questions… it removes a material near-term technical risk,” Owen Lau, analyst at Clear Street, said. 6
XRP is the token associated with Ripple Labs, whose long-running U.S. regulatory fight with the SEC ended last year with a $125 million fine left in place and limits on certain institutional sales. The token remains volatile, and flows tied to investment products can turn quickly when risk appetite shifts. 7
Still, the downside case is simple: if U.S. data re-accelerate and push yields higher, the bid for high-beta trades such as crypto can thin out fast, especially into policy events. The Federal Reserve’s next rate decision is scheduled for Jan. 27-28, another potential pivot point for markets sensitive to the cost of money. 8
Traders’ near-term focus is Friday’s U.S. employment report for December, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with inflation next in line as December CPI is scheduled for Jan. 13. 9
