New York, February 19, 2026, 16:37 (EST) — After-hours
- XRP down about 1% near $1.41, after trading in a tight $1.39-$1.43 band over the past 24 hours
- Coinbase adds XRP as eligible collateral for up to $100,000 USDC loans, alongside DOGE, ADA and LTC
- Traders look to Friday’s PCE inflation data for the next swing in rate-cut bets
XRP edged lower on Thursday, slipping about 1% to $1.41, as traders balanced a fresh push to widen the token’s use in lending against macro nerves. It traded between $1.39 and $1.43 over the past 24 hours, with roughly $2.38 billion in volume, CoinGecko data showed. (CoinGecko)
The timing matters because crypto prices have been trading like a rate story again, and investors are bracing for Friday’s U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. “Policymakers will need more clarity on inflation trends before cutting rates further,” economists at Deutsche Bank led by Justin Weidner wrote, as cited by Investopedia. (Investopedia)
Coinbase has also given XRP bulls something concrete to point at, even if the price action didn’t salute. On Feb. 18, Coinbase added support for XRP (alongside dogecoin, cardano and litecoin) as eligible collateral for up to $100,000 USDC loans, CryptoSlate reported. A Coinbase spokesperson told the site the assets were chosen in part because of the exchange’s ability “to bring these tokens onto Base and the Morpho protocol,” and because of how much customers hold on Coinbase. (CryptoSlate)
Crypto-backed loans, in plain terms, let investors borrow a dollar-pegged stablecoin using coins as collateral instead of selling into weakness. Coinbase says borrowing is enabled by the Morpho on-chain lending protocol on its Base network; at launch, the firm’s product allows loans of up to 5,000,000 USDC against bitcoin and up to $1,000,000 against ethereum, and is available in the United States excluding New York. (Coinbase)
Another institutional headline landed on the XRP Ledger itself. Societe Generale’s SG-FORGE said on Feb. 18 it had launched EUR CoinVertible on the XRP Ledger, with the deployment supported by Ripple’s custody solution and scope to explore using it as trading collateral. “The successful launch of EUR CoinVertible on the XRP Ledger is a new step,” SG-FORGE CEO Jean-Marc Stenger said, while Ripple’s Cassie Craddock said Ripple was “proud to have played a part” in the rollout. (SG Forge)
XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger, a blockchain Ripple uses in parts of its payments business. It tends to move with broader risk appetite, but product tweaks — especially anything that touches regulated finance or collateral — can change the flow picture quickly.
But the downside is not hard to sketch. Turning volatile tokens into collateral can deepen selloffs if prices fall fast, because loans can force borrowers to top up collateral or accept liquidation. That kind of mechanical selling is a real risk in thin, nervous markets.
Macro may still drown out the crypto plumbing. If Friday’s inflation data comes in hotter than expected, traders say it could keep yields elevated and pressure speculative assets; if it runs cooler, it may ease some of the squeeze that has kept rallies short.
The next hard catalyst is Friday morning. The Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to release the Personal Income and Outlays report for December 2025 at 8:30 a.m. EST, which includes the PCE price index. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
For XRP, the near-term question is whether that print resets the mood — and whether lending demand at Coinbase and new, regulated stablecoin activity on XRPL shows up in the tape as something more than a headline.
