NEW YORK, Feb 17, 2026, 12:33 ET — Regular session
- XRP slipped roughly 1.3% to $1.47, moving lower with other big-name cryptocurrencies.
- Standard Chartered lowered its XRP projection for end-2026 to $2.80, down from $8, pointing to a more challenging environment.
- U.S. inflation data lands Friday, with traders hunting for signals on future rate cuts.
XRP slipped 1.3% to roughly $1.47 Tuesday, after swinging between $1.43 and $1.50 earlier in the session. Bitcoin lost 0.8%, trading near $67,400, with ether off 0.5% at around $1,972.
Why does it matter? Crypto’s been tracking the same cues as other risk assets, all hinging on where U.S. interest rates go next. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee floated the possibility of “several more” rate cuts this year—if inflation drifts down toward 2%. That’s exactly what traders have been trying to bake in. (Reuters)
There’s also movement on the XRP front. Zand, the UAE digital bank, and Ripple are pushing ahead with stablecoin initiatives, announcing plans to broaden their collaboration. The tie-up includes backing Ripple’s RLUSD and exploring on-chain liquidity connecting RLUSD with Zand’s dirham-pegged AEDZ. “Unlock powerful new use cases as traditional finance moves on-chain,” said Zand CEO Michael Chan. Ripple’s Reece Merrick pointed to ambitions to “drive the adoption of stablecoins and tokenized assets” across the UAE. (The Fintech Times)
Sell-side chatter dominated, with Standard Chartered’s Geoffrey Kendrick slashing his XRP target for end-2026 to $2.80—down from $8. Kendrick flagged “further declines near-term” for crypto after the latest drop. The bank also trimmed targets on bitcoin, ether, Solana, and more. (TheStreet)
XRP staged a sharp comeback after its early-February slide, surging roughly 38% off the Feb. 6 low to reach $1.55, according to CoinDesk. The rally lost steam as the wider market softened. (CoinDesk)
A regulatory update out of Washington got less attention. The CFTC last week tapped Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse for its Innovation Advisory Committee, joining him with execs from top exchanges and other market players. (CFTC)
Rate bets are still calling the shots. U.S. consumer inflation dipped to 2.4% in January, according to the Labor Department, and every inflation reading has become a fresh gauge for traders trying to pin down when the Fed could cut next. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The risk here is pretty clear. Should new data drive yields higher, or if bitcoin keeps dropping, XRP usually gets dragged along. Ripple’s stablecoin and tokenization initiatives? Those don’t translate into steady transaction demand overnight, not with regulatory sign-offs still looming.
Friday brings the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the inflation measure the Fed watches most closely, hitting on Feb. 20. Traders typically seize on this release to fine-tune their rate-cut wagers and appetite for risk. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
