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CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos labelled Ripple’s payment token, XRP, as the “new cryptocurrency darling” after the token rallied 22% in the first week of the new year, as traders rotate beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
XRP’s role as an alternative to BTC and ETH is driven by its cross-border payments pitch and steady spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows that have held up even after the Q4 dip.
The Ripple token has gained 22% since January 1, outperforming BTC, which is up 5%, and Ether, which is up 10% since New Year’s Day.
XRP also surged to reach $2.42 on January 6, marking its highest prices since mid-November 2025, before hovering around the current $2.26 level.
<blockquote>
 “The hottest crypto trade of the year is not Bitcoin, it is not Ether, it is XRP,” said CNBC’s Power Lunch host Brian Sullivan.
</blockquote>
<iframe title="XRP is Now the Hottest Crypto Trade of 2026" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-yIJm61JmLo?feature=oembed" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms"></iframe>
Meanwhile, there could be major tailwinds driving the token’s price.
<h2 id="xrp-etf-momentum-and-social-sentiment-remain-strong">XRP ETF Momentum And Social Sentiment Remain Strong</h2>
Spot XRP ETFs’ momentum and social sentiment could explain why XRP is outperforming its peers, CNBC hosts said.
According to Sigalos, “during the doldrums of Q4, a lot of people were piling into XRP ETFs, which is the exact opposite of what happens with spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, where people move in tandem with the price of the coin.”
The US Spot XRP ETFs by Canary, Bitwise, 21Shares, Franklin Templeton, and Grayscale have recorded cumulative total net inflows of around $1.25 billion, with a daily total inflow of around $19.12 million, which is higher than Bitcoin’s $243 million outflows, according to<a href="https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/us-xrp-spot" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> SoSoValue</a> data.
Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, noted that ETF inflows combined with XRP breaking key resistance levels on substantial volume have heightened traders’ risk appetite.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
 Spot <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24XRP&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$XRP</a> ETFs have surpassed $1B in cumulative volume.
 This milestone signals that institutions are increasingly looking beyond BTC and ETH for regulated crypto exposure. Vincent Liu, CIO at Kronos Research, told&nbsp; <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBlock__?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@TheBlock__</a> :
 “XRP ETF inflows highlight a growing… <a href="https://t.co/6ZJudT9vqV" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/6ZJudT9vqV</a>
 — Kronos Research 🟠 (@KronosResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/KronosResearch/status/2001508144112111683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">December 18, 2025</a>
</blockquote>

Meanwhile, social sentiment for XRP is also bullish, as data from <a href="https://studio.glassnode.com/charts/distribution.BalanceExchanges?a=XRP&amp;mAvg=30&amp;s=1492964341&amp;u=1766966400&amp;zoom=" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Glassnode</a> shows that XRP exchange reserves are at their lowest levels for two years.
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CNBC Calls XRP the New Cryptocurrency Darling and Hottest Trade of 2026

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