NEW YORK, February 27, 2026, 13:01 (EST) — Regular session
XRP slid 3.7% to $1.34 on Friday, continuing its retreat as traders moved out of risk assets. The token, which powers Ripple’s XRP Ledger, was valued at around $82 billion, with trading volume for the past 24 hours coming in at roughly $3.3 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. 1
Markets are still digesting Nvidia’s post-earnings slump, leaving the AI trade on shaky ground. Fresh numbers from LSEG Lipper, cited by Reuters, show global equity funds pulled in their lightest inflows in five weeks during the period ending Feb. 25. Nvidia dropped 5.46% on Thursday, and the Nasdaq lost 1.2%. 2
Inflation proved uncooperative. U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers climbed 0.5% in January, pushing bets that the Federal Reserve won’t touch rates before June, Reuters noted. “Wider margins for producers could add some upside for consumer costs,” said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide. 3
The dollar caught a lift following the unexpected PPI print, with added support coming from growing U.S.-Iran friction as traders sought haven plays. Bitcoin dropped 2.3% to $65,924. “There’s a real deep unease in markets about inflation and growth so far in 2026,” Adam Button, chief currency analyst at investingLive, said. 4
Ripple wants attention on developers, not itself, as it works to expand the XRP Ledger ecosystem. On Thursday, the company revealed it has poured over $550 million into XRPL ecosystem projects since 2017. Looking ahead to 2026, Ripple said it plans to move toward a broader distributed support model, rolling out a FinTech Builder Program and opening up community-driven funding avenues like XAO DAO. 5
Rather than owning the token outright, some investors have opted for U.S.-listed vehicles tied to XRP’s price. Franklin Templeton’s Franklin XRP ETF, trading under the ticker XRPZ, is designed to mirror XRP’s performance ahead of fund fees, according to the firm. The product tracks the CME CF XRP-Dollar reference rate as its benchmark. 6
Grayscale’s GXRP product has dropped its sponsor fee for three months—or until assets hit $1 billion. The waiver runs through Feb. 24. Coinbase Custody is named as the digital asset custodian for GXRP. Trading lines up with regular U.S. market hours, the firm says. 7
XRP picked up earlier this week, with traders rotating back into crypto before Nvidia’s numbers landed. Nexo’s Iliya Kalchev told Barron’s the move suggested bitcoin might’ve found “a local bottom,” but flagged that volatility could still flare up. 8
The bigger picture isn’t pretty: Binance figures show XRP has tumbled roughly 28.5% in the last 30 days, despite its latest volatile action near $1.40. 9
There’s a clear risk scenario here: hotter inflation numbers or new geopolitical jolts usually slam the same sectors together. “Uncertainty prevails, fear is pushing prices higher today,” said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at PVM, with crude getting a lift from U.S.-Iran nuclear talks and potential threats to supply. 10
Stocks aren’t exactly calm. Reuters’ Morning Bid called it: Nvidia “beat the street again” but there were “no market fireworks,” and worries about competition and its customer base haven’t gone away for the AI bellwether. That’s the kind of backdrop that leaves risk assets, crypto included, on edge. 11
March 6 is on the radar—the U.S. jobs report lands then, and Reuters forecasts a 60,000 job gain. Broadcom’s earnings hit next week as well, along with fresh activity data. All eyes are on these numbers for clues about AI demand and the direction of interest rates. 12
