Two Popular Cryptocurrencies That Could Underperform the Market in 2026: DOGE and XRP

▲ XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE) / ChatGPT-generated image ©

Amid expectations of a rebound in the virtual asset market, dark clouds are gathering over the 2026 outlook for two once-popular altcoins, XRP (Ripple) and Dogecoin (DOGE). While blue-chip cryptocurrencies are pulling in capital like a black hole thanks to clear utility, these two assets have received a harsh assessment that they are likely to underperform the broader market due to structural limitations and the absence of clear short-term catalysts.

According to investment-focused media outlet The Motley Fool on February 21 (local time), over the past 12 months XRP and Dogecoin have plunged დაახლოებით 50% and 60%, respectively. This far exceeds the roughly 30% decline recorded by Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) over the same period, clearly highlighting the existential challenges facing the two assets.

XRP concluded its lengthy legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with a relatively small fine and a ruling that it is not a security for retail investors, and even secured approval for a spot exchange-traded fund by late 2025, effectively removing its biggest overhang. However, because all 100 billion tokens were issued at launch, it lacks scarcity-based valuation appeal, and its failure to support smart contracts limits the expansion of its developer ecosystem. Moreover, its core function as a cross-border payment bridge is increasingly threatened by stablecoins, which offer price stability.

Dogecoin also uses the same energy-intensive consensus algorithm as Bitcoin, but unlike Bitcoin’s capped supply of 21 million coins, it has no maximum supply limit—a critical weakness. Supporters argue that unlimited issuance encourages spending as a currency, but from an investment perspective, it simply erodes scarcity.

In addition, Dogecoin does not support smart contracts, offering little practical utility to developers. As a result, the token’s value depends heavily on one-off external hype, such as unpredictable tweets from Elon Musk, endorsements by celebrities like Mark Cuban and Snoop Dogg, or headline-grabbing treasury allocations by small companies such as CleanCore Solutions.

Ultimately, investors this year are expected to focus on blue-chip assets with clear identities, such as Bitcoin as an inflation hedge with built-in scarcity, and Ethereum as a highly developer-friendly token. The outlet warned that even if XRP and Dogecoin avoid falling into deeper trouble this year, unless they establish distinct and defensible niches of their own, they are likely to stagnate and fail to keep pace with any broader uptrend in the overall cryptocurrency market.

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