NEW YORK, Feb 23, 2026, 13:06 EST — Regular session.
- XRP slipped, with traders pulling back on risk following new U.S. tariff headlines.
- Bitcoin slipped, ether followed, and the drag on major tokens persisted.
- T. Rowe Price’s crypto ETF proposal faces key SEC deadlines on the calendar in the coming days.
XRP, the token powering Ripple’s payments system, dropped 2.2% to $1.36 on Monday, having earlier shifted in a $1.33 to $1.42 range.
Bitcoin dropped 3.9% to $64,760, with ether sliding the same 3.9% to $1,865. Big coins offered few safe spots as the retreat widened. The pullback is notable—recent crypto gains have been tied closely to a quieter macro backdrop.
Macro news took center stage. President Donald Trump said he’ll raise the temporary blanket import tariff to 15% from 10% following a Supreme Court decision that tossed out the previous duties imposed under an emergency law. He pointed to Section 122 of the Trade Act, which limits this sort of tariff to 150 days unless Congress signs off. (Reuters)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday it will stop collecting the overturned tariffs starting at 12:01 a.m. EST on Tuesday, deactivating the associated tariff codes. The agency didn’t address whether importers could expect refunds. (Reuters)
Investors scattered to safer ground. Gold jumped almost 2%, hitting a three-week peak near $5,199 an ounce. The move highlights how crypto continues behaving like a risk asset in times of policy jitters. (Reuters)
Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, flagged the risk of “disruptions” from the ongoing tariff shakeup, saying companies are seeking clearer guidelines to steer investment and manage supply chains. (Reuters)
XRP faces a looming regulatory milestone. The SEC has pegged Monday for the cutoff on public feedback regarding NYSE Arca’s bid to list the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF — that’s the exchange-traded fund designed to hold digital assets. Anyone looking to file rebuttal comments has until March 9. (SEC)
The SEC had previously set Feb. 26 as its target for the next procedural move on the proposal—whether that means a green light, a rejection, or extending the review. (SEC)
The T. Rowe Price fund’s preliminary prospectus outlines plans to typically hold anywhere from five to 15 crypto assets, with the flexibility to move overweight or underweight relative to index allocations. In the filing, XRP gets a mention as a bridge currency for the XRP Ledger. (SEC)
But there’s a catch. Tariff headlines keep shifting, and risk assets amplify that uncertainty. Over in Washington, the ETF approval process can drag on, so traders are left reacting to deadlines and official statements instead of any concrete moves in demand.
The tariff codes get switched off just after midnight on Tuesday, locking in a hard stop. The SEC’s Feb. 26 marker is only three days out, and rebuttal comments are due by March 9. Traders are eyeing XRP, seeing if it can stay above Monday’s $1.33 low with those deadlines looming.
