Wall Street media CNBC TV is calling XRP the standout crypto trade of 2026, saying its ahead of Bitcoin and Ether in recent market focus.

During a segment after the bell last night, MacKenzie Sigalos, CNBC’s finance and techn correspondent, pointed out that the Ripple-backed token surged more than 20% in one week, overtook BNB, and became the third-largest crypto by market value, as Cryptopolitan previously reported.

MacKenzie said XRP’s rally was not sudden, as the asset had outperformed quietly for months. Even on days when the crypto market was crashing, and it really was, she said it held steady.

CNBC is bullish on XRP because it is targeting banks and cross-border payments

MacKenzie said the main use case for XRP is payments, specifically cross-border settlement because Ripple designed the token to be a bridge asset.

MacKenzie said the XRP pitch differs from Bitcoin’s digital gold story and stablecoins tokenized dollars story.

MacKenzie said:-

“XRP is trying to be the exchange layer that moves value between currencies. So money is moving into XRP for three big reasons. First, the regulatory overhang has finally cleared as Ripple has fully wrapped up its SEC fight as of August 2nd. It’s a less crowded trade than Bitcoin or Ether. And third, the flows have held up even during the Q4 dip. Investors kept adding to XRP-focused funds while Bitcoin ETF flows fell with the price.”

Hosts asked how declines in Bitcoin and Ether fit into the trend, pointing to digital asset treasury companies and the risk of forced selling. But MacKenzie said that concern hangs over those assets. She said it makes sense that investors would look for an alternative inside crypto.

MacKenzie also brought up an upcoming decision by MSCI, due in nine days, on whether names like Strategy remain in its indexes. She said that decision could lead to more selling tied to index rules.

MacKenzie believes that XRP offers more upside partly because it starts from a lower base, linking that to activity seen late last year when spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows in the fourth quarter and accumulation in XRP instantly picked up.

CNBC says Solana is also a top performer aside from XRP

MacKenzie then said interest has also grown around Solana, placing it alongside XRP as the two most-watched altcoins. She said Solana draws attention through tokenization, including money market funds, not just stablecoins.

Earlier before Wall Street opened, Morgan Stanley announced that it filed an S-1 to launch Bitcoin and Solana ETFs. MacKenzie pointed out that the bank was the first to let advisors suggest spot Bitcoin ETFs and is now expanding product offerings.

Since Bitcoin’s size limits percentage gains, faster blockchains allow easier handling of tokenized assets.

The panel talked about transaction speed and cost as key factors, saying that Ether can offer cheaper transfers in some cases. They also mentioned that some stablecoin transfers on Coinbase’s Base network currently carry no fees.

“For now, many of those stablecoins are transaction free. So the speed is that what’s driving a lot of this, this idea that cost and speed is going to be the 3:11 defining factor for how people gravitate towards certain blockchains,” said MacKenzie.

Other blockchains like Tron were mentioned by the panelists as fast options with different pricing. MacKenzie explained that:-

“But at different costs, though. Different price points. Solana is a lot more cost‑effective than moving money over the Ethereum blockchain at certain times, which is why you’re seeing people diversify away from the big two.”

MacKenzie pointed to Vlad Tenev at Robinhood discussing tokenized equities as well as Brian Armstrong of Coinbase and the company’s push beyond exchange trading.

“Brian Armstrong is part of why the Coinbase trade is doing so well. Goldman Sachs upgrading it to a buy has to do with the fact that they’re diversifying away from just being a cryptocurrency exchange, and they’re getting into, like, ultimately more than just trading,” said MacKenzie.

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