XRP (XRP) cryptocurrency news
In early 2025, the XRP cryptocurrency exchange rate hit a three-year high due to the overall growth of the digital asset market, driven by Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, the growing interest of companies from the traditional sector of the economy, and the lifting of the regulatory crackdown on XRP.
DeFi infrastructure based on the XRP Ledger blockchain
Although the XRP Ledger platform is one of the leading blockchain protocols in market capitalization, which exceeds $126 billion as of May 2025, its DeFi ecosystem is significantly underdeveloped compared to competitors such as Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain.
XRP Ledger, or XRPL, is a Layer-1 blockchain similar to Ethereum. It is a platform for creating decentralized applications (DApps) and tokenizing assets such as RWA.
However, the XRP Ledger's DeFi ecosystem didn't start developing until March 2024. According to May 2025 DeFi Llama data, the total blockchain value (TVL) of DeFi protocols in the XRPL ecosystem is only about $100 million.
In late February 2025, the Ripple team announced plans to build an institutional-grade DeFi infrastructure based on the XRP Ledger blockchain.
At the heart of XRPL's DeFi infrastructure will be a decentralized exchange (DEX) with an Automated Market Maker (AMM) function based on the recently implemented XLS-30 standard. This function supports decentralized identification (DID) used for KYC/AML* compliance purposes. This mechanism can integrate with traditional order books used on centralized exchanges and withdrawing funds in the presence of specific threats.
This will be one of the first DEX exchanges whose liquidity is primarily designed for institutional investors and traders. The future decentralized exchange will also offer tokenized asset trading (RWA), crypto arbitrage, and cross-chain swaps (token exchanges between different blockchain networks) to clients of this level.
In addition to the decentralized exchange, the Ripple team plans to launch a credit (lending) protocol based on the XRP Ledger and implement the concept of "multi-purpose" tokens (MPT). MPT tokens will support features such as freezing and refunding funds and locking down the ability to transfer assets.
* KYC (Know Your Customer) /AML (Anti-Money Laundering) — a set of rules to prevent financial crimes.
Approaching ATH
Even amid a new cycle of cryptocurrency market growth, XRP never updated its all-time high (ATH), which has been in place since January 2018 at $3.84 but has come closest since then. At its peak in January 2025, the XRP cryptocurrency reached $3.29, and over the past year, the figure has risen by more than 300%.
Meanwhile, even though the crypto market's correction began in late February after the massive $1.4 billion hack of one of the largest exchanges, ByBit, and the worsening economic situation, the value of many major altcoins has fallen by several tens of percent since January, the XRP exchange rate continues to hold up. It has even increased by 4% as of May 2025.
This has been helped by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) halting of its Ripple prosecution, which began in late 2020. The regulator accused the team behind the development of XRPL of illegally selling securities, which XRP tokens recognized as.
However, in March 2025, the SEC dropped its appeal of the earlier court ruling and eventually withdrew its lawsuit against the company. In addition, it was reported that the regulator may reconsider the altcoin's status and recognize the XRP cryptocurrency as a commodity.
XRP in the U.S. crypto reserve and the first XRP-ETF
In early March 2025, recently elected U.S. President Donald Trump announced the creation of a national strategic crypto reserve, which will include, among other things, the cryptocurrency XRP. This led to a sharp jump in the altcoin's exchange rate by 30%.
In addition to XRP, the future reserve will also include:
Since Trump initially planned to include only Bitcoin in the strategic reserve, the community criticized his decision to expand the list of digital assets. However, the criticism will hardly prevent the integration of XRP into traditional finance.
Thus, in early April 2025, Teucrium Investment Advisors announced the launch of the first XRP-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.
Trading of the XRP-ETF, called Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF with the ticker XXRP, already began the same month on the NYSE Arca exchange-traded fund, which merged with the New York Stock Exchange.
In the same month, the investment fund HashKey Capital launched Asia's first XRP-ETF, which was called HashKey XRP Tracker. The company has previously launched BTC-ETF and ETH-ETF, and HashKey XRP Tracker is the third exchange-traded instrument on the fund's roster.
Other well-known investment companies, such as Franklin Templeton, have already submitted applications to launch XRP-based ETFs in the United States. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed consideration of applications for XRP-ETFs until June 17, 2025.
Circle's acquisition attempt
In April 2025, Ripple attempted to acquire Circle for $5 billion, but the issuer of the second most capitalized stablecoin, USDC, rejected the deal. In addition, Circle said it has not abandoned plans to conduct an initial exchange offer (IPO), the launch of which has been delayed due to Trump's new trade policy. The amount Ripple offers aligns with the $4-$6 billion valuation that Circle received for its planned IPO.
Notably, Ripple has issued its own stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD). The RLUSD token was issued under the newly developed GENIUS and STABLE Act bills, which will regulate the activities of stablecoin issuers within the United States.
However, the acquisition of Circle and control of the USDC stablecoin will allow Ripple to expand into the European Union, as this asset complies with the rules of the Market in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill passed in the summer of 2024. Thus, the acquisition of Circle will allow Ripple to strengthen its position in the crypto market in the stablecoin segment.
