New York, February 11, 2026, 12:23 (ET) — Regular session
XRP fell about 4% to $1.36 on Wednesday, extending a pullback across major digital tokens as bitcoin slid roughly 4.6% and ether dropped about 5.2%.
The move tracked a reset in U.S. rate expectations after a shutdown-delayed jobs report showed payrolls rose by 130,000 in January, nearly double forecasts, while the jobless rate ticked down to 4.3%. Traders in interest-rate futures now price only about a one-in-five chance of a Federal Reserve cut by April, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
The next test comes quickly. The U.S. consumer price index for January is due on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, a release that often jolts yields and the dollar — and, by extension, risk assets that trade off liquidity and rate-cut bets. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
XRP also had fresh, company-driven headlines to digest. Aviva Investors said it will work with Ripple to explore bringing tokenised funds to the XRP Ledger, a public blockchain, in Ripple’s first collaboration with a Europe-based investment manager. “We believe there are many benefits,” including “time and cost efficiency,” Aviva Investors’ chief distribution officer Jill Barber said. (Avivainvestors)
In the Middle East, UAE digital bank Zand and Ripple said they will explore a wider stablecoin and blockchain build-out, including support for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin in Zand’s regulated custody services and direct liquidity between RLUSD and Zand’s AEDZ token, The Paypers reported. (A stablecoin is a crypto token designed to hold a steady value, typically by tracking a currency.) (The Paypers)
Those initiatives follow the removal of a long-running legal overhang. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ended its case against Ripple in August 2025, with Ripple agreeing to pay a $125 million fine and both sides dropping appeals, Reuters reported at the time. (Reuters)
Even so, Wednesday’s price action underlined a familiar pattern for crypto traders: macro still drives the tape. When rate-cut odds fade and yields rise, tokens often trade like high-volatility proxies for risk appetite, regardless of deal flow.
The risk is that Friday’s inflation print runs hot. That could harden expectations for higher-for-longer policy and keep pressure on crypto prices, especially after the market’s sharp swings this month.
Traders now look to Friday’s CPI for the next clear catalyst — and for signs that fresh institutional tie-ups translate into live, regulated products rather than another round of pilots.
