Bitcoin experienced significant volatility on January 6, 2026, nearing the $95,000 mark before facing rejection and dropping below $91,500, only to stage a partial recovery to just under $93,000. This movement resulted in Bitcoin's market capitalization settling at approximately $1.850 trillion, while its dominance over altcoins declined to 56.5% on CoinGecko.
Meanwhile, Ripple's XRP token emerged as a top performer, surging by double digits to briefly touch a multi-month peak above $2.40. However, the rally lost steam at this level, with XRP pulling back to trade around $2.28. The token had gained more than 30% since the start of the year, fueled by a broader risk-on sentiment and narratives around its potential use in cross-border payments, particularly in relation to geopolitical developments involving Venezuela.
Analyst Dom, with over 34,000 followers on X, provided a cautionary analysis of the XRP move. His examination of cumulative volume delta (CVD) across major exchanges revealed that the price pump was not driven by aggressive spot buying. Instead, most spot exchanges showed net negative taker volume, indicating sellers remained dominant during the rally.
The analyst attributed the price increase to thin liquidity on the sell side, allowing the price to move upward quickly even without strong underlying demand. This structure makes the rally fragile, as a normalization of liquidity or renewed selling pressure could lead to a sharp retracement. For a sustainable trend, the analyst emphasized the need for real buyers to step in and support the price, rather than relying on thin order books.
Other major altcoins showed mixed performance. Ethereum (ETH) rose 1% to $3,250, Binance Coin (BNB) approached $920, Solana (SOL) tapped $140, and Monero (XMR) traded above $455. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization decreased by about $25 billion in 24 hours to $3.275 trillion.
