XRP in the Crypto Winter: A Steinbeckian Tale with a Laugh

by

Winter had settled on the market like a tired wagon. XRP, that pocketful of digital dust, had slipped down 15 percent in seven days, 26 percent in a fortnight, and more than 40 percent in a year. The town called it a downtrend, a bear’s breath blowing through the crypto streets.

Here, we look at the price, the stuff that feeds the ledger, and try to figure how it holds up when winter tucks its chin over the hills and the lights go dim.

They say “buy when there’s blood on the street,” and the street here wears crimson in generous measure. Just yesterday, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at seven-Extreme fear. If that isn’t a weathercock pointing toward trouble, I don’t know what is.

XRP During Crypto Winters

When you pick a coin to stake your curiosity on, you are picking a temperament. XRP is an altcoin, more twitchy than Bitcoin and more apt to wander than a mule in a cornfield. It’s tied, not by magic, but to a large American company that spends millions on banners and slogans to nurture its shareholders and its users.

Ripple promises an “ultra-fast” settlement layer for banks and all manners of financial folk to use, arguing the future is without intermediaries and with 24/7 access. But what has this done for XRP, exactly?

Its first pronounced crypto winter came in 2018. It rose above $3, drew bets from Wall Street that it would be the next big thing, and then shed most of its value, trading near $0.30 for most of the bear.

Then came the bull of 2021. In April, it climbed to about $1.70, trying to yank a double-top by November, and, like a stubborn clock, it returned toward $0.35 by spring 2022. XRP stayed in that same range until November 2024, when it vaulted above $2 and later reached a new high in July 2025.

In other words, bottom buyers could have seen a near-10x return if they bought in the dark days and sold on the bright top. Now, prices are cooling again after a parabolic run.

As I write, XRP carries a total market cap around $85 billion, a figure that makes a face-melting, millionaire-making rally feel like a tall tale told by a man who forgot his own name. Yet history has its stubborn habit of repeating, even with a year-long lawsuit whispering that XRP might be a security in some people’s mouths.

What Comes Next?

In the crypto markets there are two kinds of assets-Bitcoin and everything else-where the rest tends to be less sustainable in price and staying power, like shovels in a storm that keep slipping from your hands.

Behind XRP stands a real company, a sprawling and ambitious one, Ripple. It keeps growing, rolling out products, issuing a stablecoin called RLUSD, and chasing licenses across major jurisdictions.

But XRP itself isn’t tied to the company’s success the way a stock is tied to a single business. The investment thesis, apart from pure speculation, remains a curious thing as the field matures and rivals push harder.

Holders aren’t promised dividends; they’re buying a coin meant to transact, a coin whose fate was argued over in court as to whether it’s a security. Its supply is fixed, sure, but much of it sits in the company’s pockets, available to fund operations as needed.

So, is XRP a good bet right now? There are precedents-altcoins that roared back after long downturns. Yet history is not a map of the future, and another slide of ninety percent isn’t out of the question before any relief appears, so keep that in your pocket of caution.

None of this is financial advice; it’s a traveler’s account of XRP’s price dance through previous cycles and its tether to Ripple.

Read More

2026-02-11 14:06