Bitcoin Below $88,000: XRP Could Decouple from Crypto Leading Market

Bitcoin Falls Below $88,000

The crypto market finds itself in a phase of heightened volatility. In the night into Monday, the Bitcoin price temporarily fell below the $88,000 mark again, while Ethereum dropped below the $3,000 mark ^[2]. The crypto market is characterized by fear and uncertainty ^[2].

Observers cite uncertainty about the future development of the crypto market, fear of a recession, and uncertainty about cryptocurrency regulation as reasons for the sell-off ^[2].

XRP Shows Strength Despite Market Correction

Contrary to the general trend, XRP shows relative strength. Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, predicts a great year 2026 for XRP – in contrast to Bitcoin ^[1]. His thesis: Bitcoin has already reached its all-time high for this market cycle, but instead of participating in the downturn, Ripple Coin could decouple from the leading cryptocurrency ^[1].

"We're simply watching XRP's development while everything else is going down right now, and we continue to get net inflows every day and are holding up well," McClurg explained during a webinar that also included Ripple CTO David Schwartz and Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan ^[1].

Successful ETF Debut for XRP

With the launch of the first XRP Spot ETF in the United States, Canary Capital achieved the most successful ETF debut of the 2025 trading year ^[1]. According to SoSoValue data, $1.07 billion has already flowed into XRP index funds since trading began in mid-November ^[1].

Different Investment Theses

McClurg sees a fundamentally different investment thesis for XRP compared to Bitcoin. With the Bitcoin ETFs, digital gold has been institutionalized, while the Ethereum ETFs gradually expanded this thesis to smart contracts ^[1]. In contrast, the XRP Spot ETFs are more of a bet on payment infrastructure and real financial systems, which detaches them from Bitcoin cycles and makes them particularly attractive to Wall Street ^[1].

"There is so much progress happening on the XRP Ledger," McClurg said, adding that global capital markets truly understand what is being built there ^[1]. While the new Spot ETFs will not permanently break Bitcoin dominance, they could still fulfill a completely independent investment thesis ^[1].

Outlook Remains Uncertain

While some experts see a chance for a recovery of the crypto market and argue that the market has already overcome such crises multiple times in the past ^[2], the exact forecast for the future remains difficult. Some experts fear further devaluation, while others expect a recovery ^[2].

McClurg's thesis that XRP could decouple from Bitcoin presents an interesting counterpoint to the traditional view that Bitcoin as the leading currency dominates the entire crypto market. It remains to be seen how the various cryptocurrencies will develop in the future ^[1].