At the very start of 2026, XRP surged about 30% before sliding 7.48% in 24 hours, prompting a fresh look at its short-term outlook. Based on this backdrop, ChatGPT outlined a base-case scenario with XRP at $2.15 on January 31, 2026, slightly above the current $2.08 level. Over a longer horizon for 2026, the model suggested the token could climb to roughly $5 if recent positive momentum and supportive factors persist.

A Polymarket profile labeled 0x8dxd launched a trading bot in December 2025 with $313 to place directional bets on major cryptocurrencies. By January 6, the bot had posted an approximately 98% win rate and about $437,600 in profit, lifting the bankroll to roughly $438,000, according to Polymarket's interface.

With BTC near $89,260 at press time, on-chain analyst Ali Martinez said on January 1 he spotted a "death cross" using the 10- and 50-day SMAs and, in a January 2, 2026 post, warned it has preceded 53%–67% drops. He sees a correction toward $38,000–$50,000. Bloomberg's Mike McGlone also expects a move toward $50,000 in 2026.

On January 1, 2026, Bloomberg Senior Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone outlined a base-case scenario of heightened market stress, comparing Donald Trump’s presidential timing to Herbert Hoover’s and calling for a third down year for U.S. stocks since 2008. He argued that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies likely topped out, seeing a move to $50,000 as more probable than a surge above $100,000, while also expecting gold’s 2025 outperformance to fade and U.S. T-bonds to take over as the main source of alpha.

Data reviewed by Finbold from Arkham show a public wallet associated with Donald Trump's holdings dropped from $10.16 million on January 1, 2025 to $939,590 on December 31, 2025, a $9.22 million decline. The portfolio is down roughly 96% from mid-2024 highs near $24 million, with remaining assets led by TROG, USDC and WeFi.