On January 17, 2026, former Ripple CTO David Schwartz cautioned that copy trading can mislead followers by elevating luck as skill. He warned that choosing leaders based on past wins makes it hard to avoid luck-driven records and urged caution when assessing track records.

Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg said during a podcast with Paul Barron that XRP and Hedera could follow a different performance path than Bitcoin this year, supported by enterprise adoption and tokenization use cases. He expects only modest, low double-digit gains for these networks, while warning that Bitcoin, which he believes topped at $126,200 on October 6, 2025, could decline another 20–30% over the next six to nine months.

In January 2026, the XRP Ledger processed 1.45 million daily transactions, extending an upswing in activity that started in late 2025 alongside new payment corridors and stablecoin integrations. Analyst Sam Daodu notes that this growing on-chain usage, combined with eight-year-low exchange reserves and ETF inflows, contrasts with XRP's retrace from $2.42 to about $2.048 after a prior rally to $3.65, a pattern he says has historically preceded delayed price breakouts.

In the first week of the year, Bitcoin climbed from $87.5k to $94.8k as BTC Dominance slid from 59.58% to 58.7%, and the altcoin market cap excluding ETH added $82.56 billion (9.97%). CoinGlass's altcoin season index stood at 33, while Alphractal flagged long/short ratios above 1—XRP at 3.06—signaling crowded long positioning and potential volatility.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said on Friday that the network has drifted from decentralization, privacy, and user control, and he wants 2026 to mark a course correction. He outlined priorities like easier full-node operation, privacy-preserving payments, and resilient app design, and introduced the walkaway test earlier, on January 12, 2026.

XRP recently dropped to a 12-day low near $2.02 before rebounding within a $2.05–$2.35 range, as market watchers track a possible shift in its price structure. Technical analysts highlight a break from months of lower highs and lows and compare today's setup to XRP's 2016–2017 pattern that preceded a major rally. Projections based on this historical "cycle formula" suggest a possible move toward $8, $13 and $27, while warnings about a developing three‑month bearish Heikin-Ashi candle signal the risk of a deeper multi‑month correction if the quarter closes weak.

Ether briefly touched $3,400 on Wednesday before a two‑day 4% pullback, while derivatives positioning stayed neutral‑to‑bearish. A 4% annualized futures basis and a 6% put premium highlight caution, as lower fees and softer DApps activity weigh on sentiment. U.S. spot ETF flows have been modest since Jan. 7.

On 17 January 2026, analysts reacted to the latest delay of the CLARITY Act by arguing it reflects timing rather than a reversal of US crypto policy. They say clearer rules, whether through this bill or a later framework, could shift XRP demand toward institutional usage and make it harder for individual actors to steer its price. XRP's recent sideways trading is described as a market waiting for a regulatory signal strong enough to reset expectations.