Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

Author | Dingdang ( @XiaMiPP )

A week ago, Ripple (XRP)'s market capitalization exceeded $203.9 billion , catapulting it to 91st place in global assets, surpassing PepsiCo, Uber, and BlackRock, and narrowing the gap with McDonald's to 5% . Notably, since Trump's re-election in 2024, XRP has seen a cumulative increase of over 585% , with a surge of 71.6% in July alone. Although its market capitalization has recently fallen to $178 billion due to the broader market correction, XRP remains strong during today's rebound.

Observing XRP's performance over the past year shows that in this new cycle dominated by institutions, it has demonstrated remarkable resilience—after each sharp drop, funds have always been the first to support the market. This "active support" phenomenon may be due to a fundamental shift in Ripple's fundamentals. Odaily Planet Daily will provide an in-depth analysis of its recent core changes below.

Regulatory breakthrough: six years of legal shackles finally lifted

For Ripple, 2025 marked a turning point in its long legal battle. Since 2019, the protracted litigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has weighed heavily on XRP's development. It wasn't until 2023 that Judge Torres' ruling provided the first respite: open market XRP trading did not constitute securities sales, although institutional sales still crossed the red line under securities law.

In 2025, Ripple voluntarily withdrew its cross-appeal against the SEC, choosing to pay a $125 million fine and conclude the matter with a "settlement." The six-year-long compliance dispute officially came to an end, not only relieving Ripple of its burden but also opening the door to the future of XRP.

ETF Store President Nate Geraci stated that the resolution of the lawsuit clears the way for a spot XRP ETF and may even attract financial giants like BlackRock. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart is even more optimistic, predicting a 95% probability of approval for an XRP spot ETF in the second half of 2025, placing it alongside Solana and Litecoin as the most likely "sub-mainstream" assets to receive approval. New SEC Chairman Paul Atkins issued clear guidance, signaling a shift in the regulatory environment from "passive obstruction" to "structural acceptance."

XRP's compliance concerns have dissipated, and investors are beginning to look forward to its bigger stage in the traditional financial market.

Financial product expansion: mainstream market status is recognized

XRP's market popularity is also reflected in the continued expansion of financial products.

Coinbase Derivatives announced that it will launch nano XRP perpetual contracts on August 18, providing a legal derivatives channel for the US market; on the New York Stock Exchange, the ProShares Ultra XRP ETF (code: UXRP) was approved for listing, providing a leveraged product with a daily return of twice. Although it is not a spot ETF, it has been regarded as one of the signals that XRP has entered the mainstream financial framework.

At the same time, Bitwise converted all of its 10 crypto index funds into ETFs, with XRP ranking among the top five; Truth Social's "Crypto Blue Chip ETF" also allocated 2% of its asset weight to XRP, clarifying its position in the "crypto blue chip" sequence.

The launch of these financial products is a testament to XRP's core attributes, including its high market capitalization, high liquidity, and low transfer costs. More importantly, with the lowering of regulatory compliance thresholds, exchanges and institutions are accelerating their reassessment of XRP's potential as a financial asset.

The rise of corporate reserves and the rise of the second growth narrative

If regulatory breakthroughs paved the way for XRP, then institutional enthusiasm gave it wings. In 2025, more and more companies will incorporate XRP into their financial reserves or payment systems, which will become one of the core driving forces behind XRP's rise in 2025.

Mobile travel service provider Webus International Limited signed a $100 million preferred equity and line of credit agreement with Ripple Strategy Holdings to establish an XRP reserve pool. Thumzup Media Corporation authorized holdings of up to $250 million in crypto assets, specifically including XRP. Vertical agricultural technology company Nature's Miracle Holding announced the establishment of a $20 million XRP treasury program for working capital management. Meanwhile, Amber International completed a $25.5 million private financing round, which will be used to build a $100 million crypto reserve portfolio centered around XRP. Investors include established crypto VCs such as Pantera Capital.

From cross-border payments to corporate settlements, XRP's actual usage scenarios are rapidly evolving towards a "corporate financial tool." This emerging "reserve narrative" is breaking away from the original narrow understanding of "litigation and price" and reshaping market perceptions.

On-chain transparency and trust reconstruction are underway

Despite its impressive market performance, questions about on-chain transparency remain within the XRP community. KOL Andrei Jikh noted that while Ripple claims to have partnered with over 300 banks since 2013, this lacks sufficient on-chain data to support its claims.

In response, Ripple CTO David Schwartz stated that most institutions use XRP for off-chain solutions. XRP itself is not designed as a high-frequency on-chain interaction platform; its value lies in supporting efficient cross-border payment channels. While this explanation addresses the phenomenon of "on-chain silence," it also exposes a core dilemma facing Ripple: how to strike a balance between off-chain institutional use and community transparency into the on-chain ecosystem.

On the other hand, after the price of XRP hit a historical high of $3.66 and then fell back, on July 18, co-founder Chris Larsen transferred $26 million worth of XRP to Coinbase, sparking market speculation. Fortunately, it did not trigger obvious selling pressure, which may be due to the personal need of asset management of the co-founder.

Separately, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse clarified Linqto's ownership of 4.7 million Ripple shares, emphasizing the fundamental difference between Ripple shares and XRP. He stated that Linqto, as an independent company, acquired shares from existing shareholders, and that Ripple has no control over its business practices. This clarification dispels community misunderstandings regarding the equity transaction and enhances Ripple's transparency.

Overall, Ripple is steadily rebuilding transparency and trust through public responses, system clarifications, and governance disclosures. This will also be another necessary "infrastructure construction" for it to enter the "institutional subscription phase."

Conclusion

From the dust settling on the SEC lawsuit, to the increased probability of ETF approval, to the expansion of corporate reserves and financial products, Ripple is gradually completing the transition from "regulatory fringe assets" to "mainstream financial targets."

In the short term, a successful spot ETF launch in the second half of 2025 will be a key milestone in leveraging the next wave of capital. In the long term, Ripple must continue to work on improving the transparency of the XRPL chain to meet community expectations and meet institutional standards. From cross-border payments to corporate reserves and global financial products, Ripple's ambitions are rapidly expanding.