XRP has been the strongest performer among the top five cryptocurrencies since the start of the year, adding about 3% while Bitcoin and Ethereum have struggled. Its price is now approaching the $1.50 support area after a failed breakout from a falling wedge, with some traders eyeing upside targets at $2.50, $3.50 and $5 if momentum improves. Alongside this, pending U.S. legislation and steady inflows into XRP ETFs have strengthened the token's institutional narrative.

By early 2026, Elon Musk's Grok AI issued bullish projections for XRP, Solana and PEPE, linking potential upside to an extended crypto bull cycle and clearer U.S. regulation. The model suggests XRP could climb from about $1.90 toward $27.52, Solana from roughly $130 to $1,200 and PEPE from around $0.0000051 to approximately $0.000025 in a favorable scenario. Alongside these forecasts, meme token Maxi Doge has drawn attention in January through a presale that has raised over $4.5 million at a token price of $0.0002795 with up to 69% APY staking rewards.

Chainlink has introduced 24/5 U.S. Equities Streams that bring major stocks and ETFs on-chain for continuous trading and DeFi use cases. The system converts fragmented U.S. equity data into cryptographically signed, sub-second feeds, covering regular, pre-market, post-market, and overnight sessions. Several exchanges and DeFi platforms have already integrated the service to power RWA markets and equity derivatives.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong brought Bitcoin into formal policy debate. On January 21, 2026, he confronted Banque de France governor François Villeroy de Galhau over monetary control, and by January 22 the focus had shifted to Bitcoin as a monetary system rather than a mere technology.

On January 20, Grayscale filed an S-1 with the U.S. SEC seeking to convert its existing Grayscale Near Trust into a spot NEAR ETF to be listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker GSNR. The trust, launched in May 2024 and opened to public trading in September 2025, currently manages about $900,000 with a 2.50% expense ratio, while NEAR trades around $1.53 after a 69% annual decline.

On Wednesday, Pantera Capital released its latest blockchain letter, reviewing the difficult conditions of 2025 and outlining an upbeat outlook for the rest of 2026. The firm points to macro factors, Federal Reserve rate cuts, and regulatory moves such as the GENIUS Act as shaping market sentiment, while also highlighting growing institutional blockchain adoption. Looking ahead, Pantera expects strong momentum in real-world assets, stablecoin innovation by major banks, and a robust year for digital asset IPOs.

The Sandbox's SAND recorded a 2.24% daily gain as trading volume rose over 113%, bucking broader market weakness. The token cleared a months-long declining structure and reclaimed mid-range levels, bringing the $0.20 area into view as derivatives interest builds and exchange outflows suggest steady accumulation.

XRP has fallen below the $2 level after a brief rebound to about $2.20 in mid-January, extending a week-long downturn that saw the price drop to $1.85 during a liquidity sweep. On January 20, XRP-linked ETFs registered roughly $53 million in outflows, their largest single-day withdrawal since launching in November 2025, adding to broader risk-off sentiment across U.S. markets. With XRP now trading below key moving averages and Ripple intensifying its focus on stablecoins like RLUSD for global settlement, investors are reassessing short-term demand for the token.