Ripple's native cross-border token, XRP, experienced a significant price correction early Monday morning, falling below the $2.00 mark for the first time since January 2. The token's price plunged to its lowest point of the year at $1.84 before recovering slightly to its current trading price of $1.97. This represents a decline of over 23% from its January 6 high of $2.41.
Geopolitical Factors Impacting Crypto Markets
The most likely catalyst for this sharp price movement appears to be escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and the European Union. Over the weekend, eight EU countries deployed troops to Greenland for a reconnaissance mission following U.S. President Trump's assertion of his country's interest in purchasing the island.
In response to this development, President Trump imposed a new set of tariffs on the nations that sent military personnel. The European Union convened an emergency meeting, during which French President Emmanuel Macron advocated for the bloc to utilize its "trade bazooka," a measure that has never been employed before.
Broader Market Reaction and XRP's Position
The cryptocurrency markets had remained relatively flat over the weekend while these geopolitical events unfolded. However, a significant downturn occurred on Monday morning as Asian and some futures markets opened. Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a notable drop, falling from over $95,000 to below $92,000 before recouping some of its losses.
Most altcoins, including XRP, were hit even harder. Analyst CryptoWZRD had previously warned that Ripple's token was showing a bearish trend against BTC, correlating with the broader market's decline driven by the tariff impacts. The analyst highlighted that XRP needed to maintain a price above $1.975 to achieve further upside momentum, a level the token was actively testing during the price correction.
XRP Daily Technical Outlook:
$XRP closed bearish alongside XRPBTC, following Bitcoin’s last-minute decline due to tariff impacts. I’ll monitor the intraday chart for the next scalp opportunity. Price needs to hold above $1.9750 to gain further upside momentum 🤔 pic.twitter.com/59OUkWdiVB— CRYPTOWZRD (@cryptoWZRD_) January 19, 2026