CNBC the financial media of Wall Street is declaring XRP to be the premier crypto trade for 2026, since it has been attracting more market attention than even Bitcoin and Ether during the last few weeks.
During the closing trading hour on CNBC, MacKenzie Sigalos citing a report that XRP soared over 20% during one week, surpassed BNB, and became the number three cryptocurrency by market cap.
She commented that XRP’s ascent was not unexpected. The analyst pointed out that the crypto asset was silently outperforming for a long time and stayed stable even on the market’s bearish days when the wider crypto market experienced drastic declines.
The optimistic picture painted by CNBC mainly attributes to the payment processing capabilities of XRP. Ripple, as explained by Sigalos, developed the cryptocurrency as a bridge asset for international transactions hence making it different from the “digital gold” narrative surrounding Bitcoin and the stablecoin model pegged to tokenized dollars.
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The hosts of the particular show posed questions with regards to the recent fall in value of Bitcoin and Ether, and risk factors involving digital-asset treasury firms and possible selling pressured in the future. Sigalos countered that situation with an argument, saying, the disclosed concerns have limited effect on those digital currencies, further pointing out that it is not unreasonable for investors to be on the lookout for other options within the crypto space.
MacKenzie Sigalos highlighted an upcoming MSCI decision, which is only about nine days away, affecting whether firms like Strategy will continue to be included in its indexes or not. She said the negative result could lead to an increase in selling as a consequence of index-tracking rules.
Sigalos further remarked that XRP could provide a powerful upside as it is starting its journey from a low base. He connected this view with the market behavior that took place towards the end of last year when spot Bitcoin ETFs faced net outflows in the fourth quarter while XRP saw an immediate increase in accumulation.
Solana in the Limelight as a Major Altcoin with XRP
According to MacKenzie Sigalos, the interest of investors is growing around Solana, which puts it next to XRP as the two most monitored altcoins at the moment. She stated that Solana’s attraction was not limited to stablecoins as it was gaining popularity in tokenization, especially in money market funds where more and more activity is taking place.
Earlier in the day, prior to Wall Street’s opening, Morgan Stanley made an announcement that it has submitted an S-1 registration to launch Bitcoin and Solana ETFs. Sigalos pointed out that the bank was the first among the big firms to give its advisors the green light to recommend spot Bitcoin ETF and is now expanding its digital asset product portfolio.
She went on to say that Bitcoin’s extensive market size inherently restricts its potential percentage gains to a small scale, whereas quick blockchains are well-positioned to handle the large-scale support of tokenized assets.
The panel also identified transaction speed and costs as primary factors to push the adoption of blockchain technology. They mentioned that Ether can sometimes provide cheaper transfers and that there are currently no fees charged for transfers of certain stablecoins on Base.
