If you held XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), or Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) through Q1 2026, you already know how bad it was. XRP had its worst quarter in eight years, Ethereum plunged over 30%, and Solana lost close to 40% in value. Each coin had strong fundamentals going into the year, and none of them mattered once the war between the U.S. and Iran rattled the market.
But Q2 is off to a different start as the war situation has started to change. All three altcoins are rallying on the back of a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. As macroeconomic conditions improve, will XRP, Ethereum, and Solana build on the current momentum and bounce back in Q2?
What Went Wrong for XRP, Ethereum, and Solana in Q1
The war between the U.S. and Iran crushed crypto and stocks in Q1, but the three altcoins also had individual problems that worsened the decline. Here’s why XRP, Ethereum, and Solana plunged, aside from the pressure from the geopolitical war.
XRP: Ripple’s Growth Didn’t Reach the Token
Ripple hit a $50 billion valuation in Q1 and tripled its Prime brokerage revenue, but the XRP price dropped 27.1%. The decline marked XRP’s worst first quarter since 2018.
The disconnect between Ripple’s success and the XRP price comes down to how Ripple’s partners actually use the network. Banks like Deutsche Bank and Société Générale are settling payments through Ripple’s infrastructure in RLUSD and fiat, not in XRP. Ripple the company is growing, but that growth flows to its private equity holders, not to people holding the token, so it doesn’t reflect in the price as well.
XRP ETFs pulled in $1.2 billion in their first four months after launching in late 2025, but March brought $130 million in outflows as investors moved away from altcoins. Around 60% of XRP’s circulating supply is held at a loss, and every rally toward the $1.44 average cost basis triggered selling from holders trying to break even. That kept the XRP price stuck below $1.45 for most of the first quarter.
Ethereum: Layer 2s Are Growing at ETH’s Expense
Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base now handle most of Ethereum’s transactions, but the fees from those transactions stay on the L2s instead of flowing back to ETH. Ethereum’s mainnet fee revenue dropped over 90% year-on-year after EIP-4844 made L2 transactions nearly free. It also killed the burn mechanism that was supposed to keep ETH deflationary, and Ethereum has turned net inflationary as a result.
Ethereum ETFs posted five consecutive months of outflows totalling over $2.4 billion, which made it one of the weakest institutional crypto products in Q1. The ETH price dropped 32% in the quarter as institutional and retail demand both pulled back at the same time.
Solana: The Meme Coin Economy Collapsed
Solana’s rally in 2024 and 2025 ran on meme coin speculation, with nearly half of the network’s 2025 revenue coming from DEX platforms dominated by meme coin trading. When the speculation faded in Q1, the revenue declined with it. Solana’s monthly DEX volume fell from $156 billion at its October 2025 peak to just $57 billion by March 2026, and network fees dropped 42% between January and March alone.
For instance, a token linked to Argentina’s president was rug-pulled in February, wiping out $4 billion and leaving a mark on how the market views Solana-based projects. Solana’s long-term holder accumulation dropped 92% from its January peak, and the SOL price finished Q1 down roughly 38%.
Why XRP, Ethereum, and Solana Are All Rallying in April
The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran on April 7 eased the pressure on the financial markets. Crypto prices surged upon the news, with XRP, Ethereum, and Solana all rallying to their highest levels in weeks. XRP climbed to $1.38, Ethereum pushed above $2,250 for the first time since mid-March, and Solana broke back above $83.
Oil prices also dropped from around $113 to below $95, easing the inflation pressure that had been weighing on crypto all quarter. Bitcoin crossed $71,000 for the first time in three weeks, and the whole crypto market grew by nearly 4% in 24 hours. This showed that, regardless of the fundamentals of Bitcoin and the altcoins, it was the geopolitical war and macroeconomics that were weighing on the market all along.
The ceasefire is currently hanging by a thread, and the altcoin rally is starting to look shaky following Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, which put pressure on the deal. But XRP, Ethereum, and Solana, all moving higher after months of decline, is something that hasn’t happened since January. If the momentum continues, Q2 can be the stark opposite of Q1 in terms of price performance for these coins.
Will XRP, Ethereum, and Solana Close Q2 in the Green?
The underlying problems XRP, Ethereum, and Solana had from Q1 are still there, but the macroeconomic pressure that made things worse is easing. The war ceasefire expires around April 22, the CLARITY Act markup is expected shortly after, and the FOMC meets on April 28-29. The outcomes from the three events will shape how the market moves this month.
For now, this weekend’s meeting between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad is the biggest one to watch. If the talks are fruitful, the war could finally come to an end, and that would give the market more room to breathe. The next biggest catalyst is the CLARITY Act. If it passes, XRP gets the federal commodity classification that banks and institutions need to finally adopt XRP at scale—and that directly fixes the disconnect that hurt XRP in Q1.
For Ethereum, BlackRock’s staked ETH ETF is already pulling ETH off the open market, which works against the selling pressure from five months of outflows. Solana’s ETFs held up through the entire Q1 crash, so institutional demand for SOL is still there waiting for the market conditions to improve. If the war settles and these catalysts come through, Q2 could be the first quarter since mid-2025 where all three altcoins close out in the green.
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