New York, Feb 27, 2026, 17:23 EST — After-hours
- XRP slid roughly 3.4% in the past day, changing hands close to $1.34.
- Ripple rolled out a plan aiming to expand XRP Ledger funding past Ripple-backed programs, with eyes on 2026.
- Risk appetite is under scrutiny as tech stocks stumble and the U.S. rate outlook keeps traders on edge.
XRP reversed course Friday, shedding 3.4% in the last 24 hours to hover near $1.34. It had touched as high as $1.42, but spent the session moving between $1.34 and $1.42 as some traders lightened up on crypto risk.
XRP’s slide is drawing attention partly because the token has lately traded less on its own news, acting instead like a high-beta risk asset. Smaller, more speculative coins like these can react sharply when sentiment shifts.
The bounce on Thursday pumped plenty of fast cash into the market. Friday put that to the test. A handful of traders had been riding inflows into crypto wrappers, along with a fleeting squeeze on bearish positions.
Crypto bounced back the previous day, with bitcoin surging roughly 5%—a move one market analyst linked to a wave of ETF-driven demand. Riya Sehgal, research analyst at Delta Exchange, described it as “driven by structural demand and short-term positioning,” citing both ETF inflows and a spate of short liquidations, where short sellers are forced to buy back after losses. The Economic Times
Come Friday, sentiment soured, with tech stocks under pressure after Nvidia’s rally fizzled out, dragging peers lower. Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid pointed to smaller-than-expected earnings beats, saying they fell short of what investors had come to expect. He also noted that doubts about the AI theme had been piling up.
Ripple, the crypto payments firm tied to XRP, surfaced with a fresh update this week, but that didn’t shake the broader retreat. In a Feb. 26 blog post, Ripple said it has put more than $550 million into XRP Ledger ecosystem projects since 2017. Looking ahead to 2026, the company plans to roll out a more distributed funding approach—highlighting a new FinTech Builder Program and XAO DAO, a member-governed group steering fund allocation via votes.
Ripple has its sights set on a longer horizon—building out developer support, drawing in venture partners, and moving more projects beyond just the pilot phase into full-scale production. Still, traders keep approaching XRP as a sentiment play, particularly when shifts in equities or interest rate expectations start making waves.
XRP’s legal cloud has lingered for years. Then in 2023, a U.S. judge decided Ripple’s sales of XRP on public exchanges didn’t break federal securities laws—a closely followed ruling across crypto.
The risks are clear: should stocks keep falling or fresh macro numbers lock in bets on higher rates, the fast-money pockets of crypto could unravel fast. XRP, for one, has tumbled before—even with upbeat headlines from its issuer.
All eyes now turn to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision, slated for March 17–18. Investors are set to scrutinize any hint of a change in the rate outlook.
