December 26th Crypto Picks: XRP, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu Lead the Charge

Forget the holiday leftovers—the real action is heating up in the crypto markets. As the year winds down, three familiar names are flashing signals that have traders leaning in.

XRP: The Legal Shadow Lifts

Ripple's ongoing saga with regulators isn't just courtroom drama—it's a price catalyst. Every development in the case sends ripples (pun intended) through XRP's valuation. The token thrives on regulatory clarity, and whispers of a final resolution could be the jet fuel it needs. It's the ultimate high-stakes bet on bureaucracy.

Dogecoin: The Meme That Refuses to Die

Powered by a cult-like community and the occasional billionaire tweet, DOGE continues to defy the 'serious investor' handbook. Its strength isn't in a whitepaper; it's in cultural staying power. While traditional finance scoffs, Dogecoin's network effect and sheer brand recognition make it a perpetual dark horse—proving sometimes the joke's on the skeptics.

Shiba Inu: Building Beyond the Bark

SHIB is no longer just the 'Dogecoin killer.' Its ecosystem is expanding past the meme, with layer-2 solutions and metaverse ambitions aiming to add real utility. This pivot from pure hype to attempted infrastructure is a risky but calculated move. It's betting that an army of holders will care about burn rates and blockchain scaling—a fascinating social experiment in tokenomics.

In a sector where 'fundamentals' can mean a viral TikTok video, these assets highlight crypto's unique duality: part disruptive technology, part pure market psychology. Choose your narrative wisely.

Ripple (XRP): Could Be Looking At Very Positive Year

XRP ETFs have seen impressive inflows despite the “dead” price action in the market. As of December 23, spot XRP ETFs recorded $1.13B in net inflows, with steady demand over the past 33 days.

These funds have outperformed Bitcoin and ethereum ETFs, holding positive momentum even while broader market conditions remain volatile.

Add in the constant ecosystem upgrades, major milestones, and a technically strong chart, and 2026 could be shaping up to be a very interesting year for XRP.

To fully reverse its downtrend, XRP needs to climb above the $2.2 level. This WOULD break the token’s bearish price structure. This could set the stage for a strong recovery to $3 at least.

Dogecoin And Shiba Inu: Memecoins Potential Revival?

I know memecoins look mostly dead right now and hope feels pretty thin across the board. But for Shiba specifically, there is something big on the horizon.

The team is planning a major network upgrade that would add privacy to the chain. That is a big deal, especially with privacy becoming one of the hottest topics in crypto right now.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been struggling to build momentum as Christmas approaches, with market sentiment looking increasingly indecisive.

The memecoin is down about 1.7% over the last 24 hours, trading in a tight range between $0.00000697 and $0.00000717. That kind of price action points to a dull, low-energy market, with SHIB currently sitting near the lower end of that range.

For this bounce to mean anything, price needs to break above $0.00000800 and hold it to confirm a bullish shift. If it fails to do so, SHIB could slide back toward a new low, marked by the red projection, which is the same area where buyers stepped in last time.

Dogecoin is in a similar spot, and there still looks like there is room for more downside before the next real MOVE higher kicks in.

Price just lost the $0.13 support, and that opens the door for a drop toward the $0.09 area. That would mean roughly a 31% downside move from here in the short term.

The RSI is not helping the bull case either. It has been stuck below the 14-day moving average and the midline for weeks now, which is a clear sign that bearish momentum is still in control and sellers are dictating the price action.

Bitcoin Hyper Is Building While Alts Chop Sideways

While most altcoins are stuck grinding lower and sentiment feels drained, Bitcoin Hyper is quietly doing the opposite. This is usually how early cycle winners start forming, not during euphoric rallies, but during boredom, doubt, and sideways markets.

Bitcoin Hyper is positioning itself for the next phase of the market, where capital rotates out of lagging majors and into projects with clear narratives and asymmetric upside. That rotation almost never waits for perfect charts, it happens while most traders are still distracted by short term weakness in names like XRP, DOGE, and SHIB.

The project has already raised more than $29M, showing strong conviction from early participants even while the broader market struggles to find direction. On top of that, staking rewards hovering around 39% APY give holders a reason to sit tight and accumulate rather than chase quick flips.

Historically, the biggest breakouts come from projects that were built quietly during consolidation phases like this. While the crowd waits for confirmation candles on altcoins, bitcoin Hyper is laying its foundation.

If 2026 really does shape up to be a bullish year, the projects accumulated during this low-interest phase are often the ones that move first and hardest.