Why Is XRP Sentiment Rising To The Positive While Bitcoin And Ethereum Suffer?

While Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and most cryptocurrencies are struggling with overwhelmingly negative market sentiment, XRP appears to be the only coin on which investors have suddenly turned bullish. Despite crashing below $1.4 this week, new reports indicate that XRP’s market sentiment is moving into positive territory, suggesting investor confidence in the token is shifting amid broader market weakness.

XRP Sentiment Turns Positive As Bitcoin And Ethereum Struggle

Bitcoin and Ethereum are facing intense bearish pressure, with market sentiment around the two largest cryptocurrencies remaining negative. Despite the broader market pullback, sentiment readings on XRP are unexpectedly positive. 

Recent data from crypto analytics platform Santiment show that, as of January 7, 2026, Bitcoin’s negative sentiment has dropped to 1.39, and Ethereum’s has fallen to 1.73, reflecting growing fear and uncertainty among investors amid the broader crypto downturn. Santiment’s chart indicates that market sentiment surrounding Bitcoin and Ethereum had steadily deteriorated since the beginning of the year. 

Although Ethereum’s sentiment briefly rose to 2.12 in early January as the price attempted several recoveries, market perception quickly reversed and plunged as the cryptocurrency continued to decline. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has shown minimal improvement in market psychology, with sentiment remaining firmly in negative territory since the beginning of January. The cryptocurrency’s recent breakdown below $70,000 has further intensified bearish readings, fueling concerns among market watchers that it may now be in a full-scale bear market, with additional near-term downside pressure expected. 

This substantial decline in sentiment for Bitcoin and Ethereum highlights XRP’s unusual bullish position in the market. Given that its price crashed below $1.3 at the time of writing, market sentiment for XRP was widely expected to remain negative. However, against all odds, the cryptocurrency has managed to regain investors’ positive outlook and confidence. 

Santiment data shows that XRP’s market sentiment rose to 4.07 on January 7, up from 1.39 the day before. Since the beginning of January, the cryptocurrency’s sentiment has remained below 2, reflecting significant caution and uncertainty among investors ahead of the recent unexpected change. 

Why Sentiment Is Becoming Positive

The rise in XRP’s positive sentiment is largely attributed to growing institutional demand for the cryptocurrency’s Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). While Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs continue to experience outflows, XRP ETFs are the only products showing gains. 

Data from SoSoValue shows that Spot Bitcoin ETFs have posted only two days of positive inflows since January 16, with the most recent daily outflow totaling $434.15 million on February 5. Ethereum ETFs have faced similar losses, registering positive inflows on only three occasions since January 20. It recorded its largest outflow this year on January 21, when approximately $297.51 million left the asset. Meanwhile, XRP Spot ETFs have outperformed, recording only four days of outflows since the beginning of January, reflecting growing confidence and a shift in institutional interest toward the cryptocurrency.