Bitcoin and Ethereum gain as Ripple, Stellar advance; DeFi reboot looms in 2026

What Shipped

The blockchain and crypto world has kicked off 2026 with some exciting developments and steady price movements. Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, is holding strong at around $91,205, showing a healthy 1.2% increase over the past 24 hours. Ethereum, the second-largest by market cap and the backbone of many decentralized applications, also saw a modest gain of about 0.65%, trading near $3,148.

Among other notable projects, Ripple’s XRP token has recently surged past the $2 mark, capturing investor attention. Stellar’s native token is also on the rise, currently priced at about 22.5 cents with a solid 0.78% increase in the last day. Meanwhile, newer or smaller networks like Flare and Hedera have experienced slight declines in value, with Flare down nearly 0.3% and Hedera dropping about 0.73%. The XDC Network, known for its focus on enterprise blockchain solutions, saw a small uptick of 0.43%, trading at just over 5 cents.

On the news front, Stellar released a comprehensive year-in-review blog highlighting their achievements in 2025, including advances in interoperability and ecosystem growth. Hedera Hashgraph summarized their 2025 milestones, emphasizing their work on building a trusted, fast, and secure public ledger. Chainlink, a key player in decentralized finance (DeFi), shared insights into its dominance across on-chain finance last year and discussed the future of compliance in blockchain finance. Additionally, Ethereum and Solana are gearing up for what many expect to be a major DeFi reboot in 2026, potentially bringing fresh innovation and user adoption to decentralized finance.

Why It Matters

Understanding these updates matters because they highlight the ongoing evolution of blockchain technology and its growing impact on finance and beyond. Bitcoin’s steady price increase reflects continued confidence among investors, often seen as a digital store of value similar to gold. Ethereum’s steady performance is encouraging as it remains the platform where many decentralized apps (dApps) and DeFi projects are built, meaning its health often signals the broader ecosystem’s vitality.

Ripple and Stellar are both focused on improving cross-border payments, a crucial use case for blockchain technology. Ripple’s recent price jump could signal renewed investor optimism about its partnerships with banks and financial institutions. Stellar’s progress, especially in tokenizing real-world assets like real estate, shows how blockchain can bridge traditional finance with digital innovation, making transactions faster and more accessible globally.

Hedera Hashgraph’s emphasis on trust and speed is important because many enterprises are looking for blockchain solutions that combine security with scalability. Flare Network, while seeing a slight dip, continues to work on integrating smart contract functionality with other blockchains, enhancing connectivity. The XDC Network’s small gains reflect growing interest in hybrid blockchains that combine public and private features, appealing to businesses requiring both transparency and privacy.

Builders’ Corner

For those interested in the technical and development side of blockchain, 2025 was a year of meaningful progress, setting the stage for innovation in 2026:

• Stellar’s Composability: Stellar has moved from theory to practical implementation of composability, which means different applications on its platform can easily work together. This is key for developers building complex financial products that need to interact seamlessly.
• Tokenizing Real Estate: Stellar’s partnership with RedSwan demonstrates a real-world use case where blockchain enables fractional ownership of real estate. This lowers barriers to investment and increases liquidity in traditionally illiquid markets.
• Hedera’s Trust Layer: Hedera continued to build its “trust layer,” a foundation for enterprise-grade applications that require fast, secure, and fair transactions. Their developer highlights show growing interest and activity on their network.
• Chainlink’s Role in DeFi: Chainlink remains a critical infrastructure provider by offering reliable, tamper-proof data feeds (oracles) to smart contracts, which is essential for DeFi applications to function correctly.
• Ethereum and Solana’s DeFi Reboot: Developers on these platforms are preparing new tools and protocols aimed at making decentralized finance more scalable, user-friendly, and secure, potentially attracting a new wave of users and investors.

For newcomers, “composability” means different apps can plug into each other easily, “tokenizing” is turning real-world assets into digital tokens on a blockchain, and “oracles” are services that bring real-world data to blockchain apps.

Quick Prices

• Bitcoin (BTC): $91,205 (+1.2%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $3,149 (+0.65%)
• Ripple (XRP): $2.03 (+0.26%)
• Stellar (XLM): $0.225 (+0.78%)
• Hedera (HBAR): $0.121 (-0.73%)
• Flare Network (FLR): $0.0112 (-0.3%)
• XDC Network (XDC): $0.052 (+0.43%)

What to Watch

Looking ahead, here are a few key trends and events to keep an eye on:

• Ethereum and Solana’s DeFi Upgrades: The upcoming changes could make decentralized finance more accessible and efficient, potentially driving more users and capital into the space.
• Ripple’s Legal and Partnership Developments: As Ripple’s XRP price climbs, watch for updates on its regulatory status and new deals with financial institutions.
• Stellar’s Ecosystem Growth: Stellar’s focus on real-world asset tokenization and interoperability could unlock new investment opportunities in 2026.
• Hedera’s Enterprise Adoption: Increasing use of Hedera’s network by businesses could validate its approach to speed and trust.
• Global Economic and Political Events: For example, Bitcoin’s quick recovery after the recent capture of Venezuela’s Maduro shows how geopolitical events can impact crypto markets.

For anyone new to cryptocurrency, this is a great time to learn about how different projects aim to solve real problems, from faster payments to new ways of investing. Remember, blockchain technology is still evolving, and with it comes both opportunity and risk. Staying informed and focusing on projects with clear use cases can help guide your investment decisions.

TL;DR: Bitcoin and Ethereum are climbing steadily, with Ripple and Stellar gaining investor interest thanks to real-world partnerships and new tech advances. Hedera and Flare are working on trust and interoperability but saw minor price dips. Developers are busy building composable apps and tokenizing assets, while Ethereum and Solana prepare for a big DeFi reboot. Keep an eye on regulatory updates, ecosystem growth, and global events influencing market sentiment.