Market Conditions Drive Downgrades
XRP fell to $1.16 last month, its weakest level since November 2024, before recovering partially. The token trades approximately 59% below its July 2025 all-time high of around $3.40.
Standard Chartered's broader cryptocurrency forecast cuts include bitcoin reduced to $100,000 from $150,000, ether to $4,000 from $7,000, and solana to $135 from $250.
Kendrick warned that bitcoin could test $50,000 before recovering later this year.
Assets in XRP exchange-traded funds dropped from $1.6 billion on January 5 to approximately $1 billion by mid-February, according to SoSoValue data. That 40% decline reflects broader investor caution following the market downturn.
ETF Flows Signal Weakness
The reversal follows a strong start to 2026 for XRP, which rallied 25% in the year's first week. Early momentum came from ETF inflows and regulatory clarity following Ripple's August 2025 settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Kendrick noted that XRP should maintain pace with ethereum given both assets' exposure to stablecoin development and tokenized real-world assets. However, current market conditions overshadow those longer-term themes.
The Clarity Act, pending cryptocurrency legislation in the U.S. Senate, represents a potential catalyst for XRP recovery. Progress on the bill stalled last month after disagreements between banking executives and cryptocurrency industry leaders.
Ripple's chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty said February 10 that bipartisan support for cryptocurrency market structure legislation remains intact. Whether that translates into price support depends on both legislative outcomes and broader market sentiment stabilizing.
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Kostiantyn Tsentsura is a Content Writer at Yellow.com with over 8 years of experience in crypto, dedicating the last 4 years to writing about the industry. Based in Kyiv, he’s passionate about football, fishing, and kayaking. When he’s not tracking market trends or exploring crypto news, you’ll find him on the water—because even in crypto, sometimes it’s best to just go with the flow.
