Not Bitcoin, not Ethereum: CNBC names XRP as the "Hottest Cryptocurrency of the Year"

CNBC publicly named XRP as the “Hottest Cryptocurrency of the Year” on the popular financial program “Power Lunch,” which quickly drew market attention. The show’s host Brian Sullivan straightforwardly stated that the most outstanding mainstream crypto asset this year is not Bitcoin or Ethereum, but XRP, with its significant gains and market cap ranking showing clear advantages.

Sullivan pointed out that XRP has gained over 20% since the beginning of the year, significantly outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum. Currently, XRP’s market cap has risen to the third largest cryptocurrency in the world, behind only Bitcoin and Ethereum. This ranking change has become an important basis for CNBC’s “Hottest of the Year” evaluation.

In terms of price performance, XRP opened at $1.84 when entering 2026, then quickly strengthened, reaching a high of $2.41, with a staged increase of 30.97%. Although recent market technical corrections caused XRP to fall back to around $2.25, the total increase for the year remains above 22%, demonstrating relatively strong capital support.

By comparison, Bitcoin’s price at the start of the year was about $87,508, reaching a high of $94,762, with an increase of approximately 8.28%; Ethereum rose from $2,967 to $3,303, with an increase of about 11.32%. Among mainstream assets, XRP’s performance is clearly leading, further reinforcing its position as a “front-runner” in this stage.

CNBC reporter MacKenzie Sigalos analyzed the logic behind XRP’s rise, noting that this is not short-term speculation but the result of multiple factors working together. She mentioned that, against the backdrop of a generally weak crypto market in Q4 2025, some funds have begun to pre-position in XRP. Notably, XRP ETFs continued to attract funds during the market downturn, with a net inflow of $1 billion in the first month, and no net outflows, forming a stark contrast to the volatility of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Additionally, Sigalos believes that XRP is more “trading-friendly,” more resilient, and easier to benefit from capital rotation compared to BTC and ETH. As market focus shifts from leading assets to projects with clear application scenarios, XRP and Solana are gradually being viewed as “the next hot choices.”

She emphasized that XRP’s long-term positioning in cross-border payments, its transaction speed advantage, and low-cost features remain key to attracting real-world financial institutions. This also means that current capital flows are tilting toward blockchain assets with practical financial application potential, and XRP’s strong performance at the start of the year is a direct reflection of this trend.