XRP Named Hottest Crypto Trade of 2026, Outshining Bitcoin & Ethereum

The shift in market sentiment was broadcast to a mainstream U.S. financial audience during CNBC’s Power Lunch segment on January 6. Host Brian Sullivan set the tone unequivocally: “The hottest crypto trade of the year is not Bitcoin, it is not Ether, it is XRP.” He highlighted that XRP had already gained more than 20% in the young year and climbed into the top three cryptocurrencies by market value, noting there was “big money behind this trade.” This public endorsement from a major financial network marks a significant moment for XRP, traditionally viewed as an altcoin, in its competition for investor attention and capital.

CNBC reporter Mackenzie Sigalos provided the crucial context, tracing the trend’s origins to the quiet accumulation during the fourth quarter of 2025. “During the doldrums of Q4, you actually saw a lot of people piling into those XRP ETFs,” she explained. This behavior presented a key divergence from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF flows, which typically follow price momentum more closely. Sigalos characterized the investor mindset as viewing XRP as “a less crowded train than Bitcoin or Ether,” a strategic bet that delivered substantial returns in the first trading days of January as the token surged.

The narrative from CNBC is firmly supported by recent market data. XRP experienced a rapid ascent from under $1.85 to just over $2.40 within days, a move underpinned by steady inflows into spot XRP exchange-traded funds and a concurrent drop in balances held on exchanges—a metric often interpreted as a reduction in immediate selling pressure. At the time of the report, XRP was trading around $2.25, following a 24-hour pullback of approximately 5%. This came after a strong weekly climb of nearly 20%, though the token remains about 38% below its all-time high of $3.65.

This performance starkly contrasts with that of the market leaders. Bitcoin was hovering just under $92,000, down about 2% on the day and largely flat over the preceding 30 days. Ethereum, meanwhile, was holding near $3,200, showing modest weekly gains but demonstrating weaker long-term momentum. The disparity underscores the core thesis presented on CNBC: investors are actively hunting for larger percentage moves beyond the two largest cryptocurrencies, with XRP emerging as a primary beneficiary of this search for alpha.

The CNBC segment framed XRP’s rise as part of a broader shift within crypto markets. Reporter Mackenzie Sigalos grouped XRP with Solana (SOL) as the two altcoins drawing renewed and significant interest. “Those are the two very popular altcoins right now,” she stated, attributing their appeal to investors looking elsewhere for outsized gains as Bitcoin becomes more institutionalized and established.

Sigalos detailed the distinct use cases fueling this interest. For XRP, it is the long-standing focus on facilitating fast and low-cost cross-border payments. For Solana, the draw is its high speed and cost-effectiveness in tokenizing real-world assets, such as money market funds. She pointed to a critical regulatory catalyst: “The GENIUS Act was passed into law last year, so we saw a lot more stablecoin issuers,” noting these issuers operate across multiple blockchains. Cost, she emphasized, is a decisive factor. “Solana is a lot more cost-effective than moving money over the Ethereum blockchain at different points, which is why you’re seeing people diversify away from the big two.”

This analysis was immediately complemented by significant market developments. On the same day as the broadcast, news broke that financial giant Morgan Stanley had filed to launch its own Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, a powerful signal of expanding institutional interest beyond the top two cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, Coinbase’s December 2025 integration of Solana decentralized exchange trading for its vast user base of 100 million was cited as a major step in democratizing access to that high-speed ecosystem, potentially fueling further adoption and price discovery for SOL.