XRP in 2025: A Comprehensive Analysis of Ripple’s Growth Catalysts and Price Forecast

XRP, the native cryptocurrency of Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL), concluded 2024 with a remarkable performance, surging approximately 240% to close the year at $2.07.

Notably, most of these gains materialized in the final two months, spurred by market reactions to Donald Trump’s victory in the November 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Trump, known for his pro-crypto stance, campaigned on promises to dismantle regulatory barriers that have hindered XRP’s growth, including the removal of SEC Chair Gary Gensler. Under Gensler’s leadership, the SEC had classified XRP as a security during its high-profile lawsuit against Ripple.

Top XRP News of 2025 (Until Aug. 31)

Here are the key XRP news items of 2024 so far until Aug. 31.

Ripple-SEC Lawsuit Ends

The long-running legal battle between Ripple and the SEC concluded in August 2025, with Ripple agreeing to pay a reduced penalty of $50 million.

The resolution provided much-needed regulatory clarity for XRP and was seen as a major milestone for the crypto industry. The end of the lawsuit led to a surge in XRP’s price and renewed optimism about its future in the US market.

XRP Price Surges and All-Time Highs

XRP hit a new all-time high of around $3.66 in July 2025, surpassing its previous 2018 record. The price rally was driven by broader market momentum, institutional adoption, and positive legal developments.

Institutional and ETF Developments

Multiple companies, including Grayscale and Franklin Templeton, amended their XRP ETF filings following the lawsuit’s dismissal, signaling strong regulatory progress.

Analysts predict a high likelihood of a spot XRP ETF approval by October 2025. CME Group’s XRP futures also set records for open interest, highlighting growing institutional interest.

Major Partnerships and Adoption

Saudi-backed VivoPower announced plans to purchase $121 million worth of XRP, with a Saudi prince investing $100 million. This move is part of a broader trend of corporations adding XRP to their treasuries and supporting the XRP Ledger’s DeFi ecosystem.

Protocol and Product Updates

The XRP Ledger saw several protocol amendments and software releases, including bug fixes for NFT transfer fees, payment channel improvements, and the release of XRP Ledger Server v2.6.0.

MoreMarkets launched the XRP Earn Account, allowing users to earn returns through DeFi strategies while retaining custody of their assets.

Market and Exchange Activity

XRP was approved as an eligible backing asset for Ethena’s USDe stablecoin. The Injective community updated market parameters for the XRP/USDT spot market, and trading volume for XRP tripled its daily average as bulls challenged the $3 resistance level.

Key XRP News and Events to Watch (Sept. 1 – Dec. 31, 2025)

Here are the potential XRP market driving trends until the end of 2025.

XRP ETF Approval Decision

The US SEC is expected to make a final decision on nearly a dozen spot XRP ETF applications by October 2025.

Analysts predict that approval could unlock $5–8 billion in inflows within the first year, with market odds of approval above 85%. This is widely seen as the most significant catalyst for XRP in late 2025, with the potential to drive major price action and institutional adoption

Price Actions and Technical Setups

Analysts are watching for a possible breakout above key resistance levels ($2.90–$3.30). A successful move could set up a new all-time high, with some forecasts targeting $4.16, $4.63, or even $5.39 if bullish momentum continues.

Whale accumulation and derivatives flows are supporting a bullish outlook, but volatility remains high.

Institutional and Corporate Adoption

Japanese gaming firm Gumi recently committed $17 million to XRP, with the investment aimed at ecosystem growth through February 2026. That reflects a broader trend of institutional interest, especially in Asia, and could lead to further strategic partnerships or investments in Q4.

Regulatory and Political Developments

Ripple’s community is actively engaging with US regulators and political figures, including highlighting White House access. Ongoing regulatory clarity and potential policy changes could impact XRP’s market perception and adoption.

On-Chain & Ecosystem Growth

The XRP Ledger saw record tokenized real-world asset activity in Q2 2025, and the RLUSD stablecoin grew nearly 50% quarter-on-quarter. Continued growth in DeFi, tokenization, and stablecoin adoption on the XRP Ledger is expected to be a key theme through the end of the year.

Crypto markets remain volatile, with macroeconomic data (such as US jobs reports, inflation, and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions) influencing sentiment. XRP’s price is sensitive to both crypto-specific and broader economic developments, so traders are watching for shifts in global risk appetite.

XRP Ledger and XRP Utility: A 2025 Outlook

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has been operational for over a decade, facilitating cross-border and cross-currency payments and tokenization. Compared to other blockchain networks, its design prioritizes fast and low-cost transactions. It includes built-in functionalities such as token issuance, NFTs, a decentralized exchange (DEX), escrow, compliance mechanisms, and token management.

The XRPL supports markets for NFTs, stablecoins, and synthetic assets, with native features like a central limit order book (CLOB) and automated market maker (AMM). Its base layer does not currently allow for arbitrary smart contracts, a choice aimed at maintaining stability and security. However, developments like the proposed Hooks amendment and sidechains are being explored to introduce additional scripting and execution capabilities.

The network is maintained by various contributors, including Ripple, InFTF (formerly XRPL Foundation), XRPL Labs, and XRPL Commons. Its infrastructure is utilized by individuals, financial institutions, and fintech companies, with ongoing efforts to address use cases in B2B and B2C financial services.

The growth of the XRPL blockchain plays a pivotal role in driving real-world adoption of XRP. The following sections highlight XRP’s expanding utility beyond speculative trading and why 2025 is poised to be a transformative year for its practical applications.

XRP Ledger Financial Analysis 2025

At the close of 2024, XRP Ledger’s native token, XRP, was the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at $111.37 billion. Its circulating market valuation increased by more than 200% in the year.

In addition to the so-called “Trump Pump,” several other factors contributed to increased demand for XRP among traders. In September, asset management firm Grayscale introduced its XRP Trust, offering accredited investors a new avenue to gain exposure to the asset.

Furthermore, cryptocurrency ETF issuers Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares submitted S-1 filings in October and November, seeking approval to launch XRP-focused exchange-traded funds, further bolstering interest in the token.

XRP Transaction Fees Burn Jumps ~25% in a Year

Transaction fees on the XRP Ledger are permanently burned, reducing the total supply of 100 billion XRP and introducing a deflationary mechanism. The network does not distribute the fees to stakers, as is common on many other networks.

Such a burning mechanism should reduce the total XRP supply over time, indirectly increasing the value of the remaining tokens. As a result, transaction fees effectively transfer value from those who pay fees to all XRP holders by decreasing the circulating supply.

Since launch, about 14.1 million XRP (worth $31.7 million as of Q2 2025) has been destroyed this way.

This relatively slow burn rate is due to the network’s minimal transaction fees, which average less than $0.002 per transaction. In 2024, the daily transaction fees on XRPL averaged around 3,000-5,000 XRP, with some special spike days in between.

On a yearly basis, the burn rate is up by over 25%.

XRPL’s growth potential in 2025 could mean more transaction fees burned, a positive sign as the network pursues an overall deflationary model for its XRP token.

However, this deflationary impact is offset by Ripple’s monthly release of 1 billion XRP (valued at $610 million as of Q3 2024) from escrow.

Any unused or undistributed XRP during the month is returned to new escrow contracts, continuing this cycle until the remaining ~39 billion XRP becomes fully liquid. Once the escrow is exhausted, the supply will rely solely on the deflationary pressure created by burned transaction fees.

As a result, XRP remains an inflationary asset overall. However, such conditions don’t actually impact speculators betting on the token’s institutional expansion in 2025. However, macroeconomic conditions can influence the market bias, especially with the U.S. Federal Reserve eyeing no interest rate increases in the first half of 2025.

Higher interest rates mean a broader appetite for yielding assets like Treasuries, which may hurt riskier assets like cryptocurrencies and stocks. That may change in September as the Fed potential cut its benchmark rates, followed by another slashing by year’s end.

If the Fed remains hawkish throughout 2025, traders will likely move their XRP winnings to scarcer alternatives like Bitcoin and similar proof-of-work tokens.

XRPL Ecosystem Analysis 2024-2025

The XRPL ecosystem supports many of the same functionalities as programmable settlement networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano, but lacks native smart contract capabilities.

However, in September 2024, Ripple and the XRP community announced plans to introduce native smart contracts through an upcoming XLS proposal. These contracts are expected to be permissionless and customizable, enhancing the XRPL’s existing features, including escrows, NFTs, authorized trustlines, payment channels, the decentralized exchange (DEX), and the automated market maker (AMM).

The XRPL’s base layer does not contain arbitrary smart contracts, a deliberate design choice that prioritizes security, performance, and stability.

Instead, the protocol offers natively integrated features, such as a DEX and support for issued currencies (IOUs), which are on-chain representations of various assets, such as currencies and commodities.

Trustlines reinforce the XRPL’s support for these assets. This mechanism ensures users cannot be forced to hold tokens they don’t want. Each trustline beyond the first two requires a 2 XRP reserve, making metrics like the number of token holders more reliable while also mitigating Sybil attacks.

XRP Ledger Tokens 18,600 At 2024’s End to 31,224 Now

There were more than 18,600 listed assets on XRPL as of 2024’s close. Now, the token count has swelled to 31,224. The top token, Solegenic (SOLO), accounts for over 35% of the total market cap. The top four tokens comprise over 70% of the total XRPL market cap.

As noted above, Trust Lines on the XRP Ledger are mechanisms for holding fungible tokens while ensuring that users cannot be forced to accept tokens they do not wish to hold. This system enhances the reliability of token behavior metrics on the XRPL.

Each account is allowed two free trust lines, but beyond that, a lockup of 2 XRP per trust line (owner reserve) is required for each additional object, such as an issued currency held by the account. Creating a new address on the XRPL also requires a base reserve of 10 XRP.

These requirements make performing Sybil attacks on XRPL metrics costly, such as artificially inflating the number of token holders. As a result, the number of holders is a dependable metric for assessing token adoption, especially for fungible tokens, which typically have significantly larger supplies than NFTs.

More token launches mean more XRP utility, similar to how Solana’s value has grown significantly in recent months due to memecoin mania. The introduction of smart contracts may enable such growth for XRPL in 2025.

XRPL Stablecoin Boom Has Been The Hottest Trend to Watch in 2025

Stablecoins and wrapped tokens, also known as IOUs, are among the most widely held assets on the XRP Ledger compared to other token types. Gatehub and Xaman (formerly Xumm) have collaborated to bring 14 digital assets to the XRPL ecosystem.

As of the end of 2024, the leading stablecoins and wrapped tokens on the XRPL were:

• Bitstamp BTC: Approximately $19 million market cap and over 4,300 holders
• Gatehub Fifth (ETH): Approximately $15 million market cap and over 26,000 holders
• Gatehub USD: $4.1 million market cap and over 20,000 holders
• Bitstamp USD: Nearly $3.5 million market cap and around 7,390 holders.

Ripple’s USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, has made notable strides across 2024 and early 2025 through strategic exchange listings, reward programs, and liquidity enhancements.

On Jan. 8, 2025, Bitstamp, a major cryptocurrency exchange, added RLUSD to its platform. The stablecoin is now available for trading against prominent pairs, including USD, EUR, BTC, ETH, XRP, and USDT. That follows its listing on platforms such as Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay, Archax, and CoinMENA.

In a bid to boost adoption, Uphold integrated RLUSD into its Rewards Center in January 2025, offering incentives for users to hold the stablecoin. Ripple’s President, Monica Long, revealed plans for RLUSD to be listed on Coinbase in 2025.

XRPL’s Strides in RWA and NFT Sectors

XRP’s utility across the XRPL ecosystem is picking up further upside cues from Real World Assets (RWA) and non-fungible token (NFT) sectors.

RWA Growth in 2024-2025

In 2024, several initiatives have helped real-world assets (RWAs) gain traction on the XRP Ledger. In August, OpenEden launched tokenized U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills) on the XRPL, and Ripple committed $10 million to its TBILL tokens.

Ripple is also collaborating with Archax to enable financial institutions to tokenize RWAs on the XRPL, potentially bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets on-chain in 2025. Additionally, Zoniqx is working with Ripple to integrate its tokenization services on the XRPL, leveraging features like clawback to ensure compliance.

Recent developments include Meld Gold’s partnership with Ripple to bring tokenized gold and silver to the XRPL and Tiamonds’ launch of tokenized diamond NFTs on the xrp.cafe marketplace.

Beyond RWAs, Ripple is advancing the XRPL’s role in institutional use cases, focusing on On-Demand Liquidity, custody solutions, and tokenization technologies for financial and government applications.

NFT Growth in 2024-2025

On the XRPL, NFTs are natively integrated into the protocol, eliminating the need for smart contracts for creation or transfers. Standardized by XLS-20 in October 2022, XRPL NFTs include features like royalties and anti-spam protections, allowing users to avoid unwanted or regionally restricted tokens while maintaining compliance.

In 2024, the total NFT volume atop the XRPL blockchain grew from around $464,000 in January to over $3 million in December. That accompanies an overall growth in the memecoin sector, helped by the advent of platforms like Pump Fun on Solana. Traders’ growing risk appetite after Trump’s win has also boosted NFT demand — and XRP Ledger has cashed in on it.

XRPL Sidechains Analysis 2024-2025

The XRPL ecosystem is expanding with multiple sidechains designed to enhance functionality and address use cases beyond the central ledger’s capabilities. These sidechains enable programmability and interoperability while maintaining the XRPL’s minimal L1 complexity.

Coreum

Coreum is an enterprise-grade L1 built by the Sologenic team, focused on scalability, interoperability, and security tokenization. It operates on a Bonded proof-of-stake (BPoS) consensus and uses CORE for fees, staking, and rewards. Recent developments include:

• IBC integration with networks like Cosmos, Ethereum, and BSC.
• Partnerships with Picasso Network for Solana interoperability and Band Protocol for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
• A v4 upgrade introducing smart contract extensions, clawbacks, and dynamic NFTs.

Transfers between Coreum and XRPL are supported via the Sologenic bridge.

XRPL EVM Sidechain

The XRPL EVM Sidechain, developed by Peersyst, brings compatibility to the XRPL with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Built on the Cosmos SDK, the XRPL-EVM bridge is used for interoperability. Recent updates include:

• Support for XRP, IOU, and ERC-20 token transfers.
• Cosmos IBC integration for bridging assets.
• Integration with Axelar as its exclusive crosschain bridge, with plans to source eXRP gas tokens directly from the XRPL. The sidechain is in its devnet phase, with a live launch expected after Axelar integration.

Root Network

Futureverse’s Root Network focuses on metaverse applications and NFTs. It uses XRP as the default gas token and supports EVM smart contracts. Operating on a delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) consensus, it offers token bridging with XRPL and Ethereum.

Future developments include adopting the XLS-20 NFT standard, enhancing wallet flexibility, adding social recovery features, and offering seamless Web2-like user experiences through FuturePass.

XRPL Smart Contracts 2024-2025 Outlook

Ripple is exploring integrating native smart contract functionality directly into the XRPL mainnet through “Hooks.”

Hooks are lightweight, layer-1 smart contract-like features designed to be efficient and secure. They enable developers to customize transaction behavior on the XRPL without needing full-fledged smart contract capabilities like those found on Ethereum.

Instead of being general-purpose, Hooks focuses on enhancing the programmability of native XRPL functions, such as payments, escrows, and tokenization.

XRPL Community Programs

The XRPL grants program expanded in 2024, introducing an AI funding track in September.

In May, Ripple updated its grant program, including rolling applications, revised screening criteria, developer involvement in application reviews, and office hours for feedback.

The XRPL Accelerator program launched two tracks: the Launch Program for early-stage projects, whose first cohort was announced in July, and the Scale Program for later-stage projects, which began its second cohort in September.

In July, Ripple also partnered with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to connect developers with the DIFC Innovation Hub and announced an August collaboration with APAC DAO to support XRPL developers in Southeast Asia.

Additional initiatives include XRPL Hackathons, the Aquarium Residency for developers, and the RippleX Bug Bounty Program, which rewards identifying bugs in key XRPL repositories.

XRP Price Prediction and Technical Analysis 2025

XRP may be on the verge of a rally to over $15 in 2025, per a historical fractal.

The fractal compares XRP’s current price movements to its trajectory during the 2017 bull run when the token surged from less than $0.01 to its all-time high of $3.30 in just over a year.

The similarities lie in the breakout patterns observed on XRP’s long-term charts. Following years of consolidation within a symmetrical triangle, XRP broke above its resistance in 2024, mirroring its price action from the pre-2017 breakout phase.

Caution Recommended

XRP price trends will likely mirror sentiments in the risk markets. As stated above, the Fed’s hawkish tone may reduce risk appetite as yield-bearish assets become more attractive to institutional and retail investors.

Excessive profitability may double down on such sentiment.

As of Sept. 1, 2025, more than 85% of XRP holders were sitting on unrealized gains. In other words, the vast majority of investors had bought at lower prices and were showing “paper profits” on their portfolios, a condition that often fuels heightened optimism, risk-taking, and in some cases, profit-taking.

Such heightened profitability has also called macro tops in the past.

Final Thoughts

XRP heads into the final months of 2025 with both tailwinds and headwinds that could define its trajectory into the next cycle.

Opportunities

• ETF Momentum: A likely SEC approval for a spot XRP ETF in October could bring $5–8 billion in inflows, positioning XRP for wider institutional adoption.
• Ecosystem Growth: Expanding RLUSD adoption, record RWA tokenization, and an NFT revival highlight the XRPL’s growing utility beyond speculative trading.
• Corporate & Institutional Demand: Big-ticket buys from firms like VivoPower and Gumi showcase XRP’s emergence as a treasury and ecosystem investment.
• Technical Breakouts: Price structures suggest upside potential toward $4–$5.39 in the short term and even $15 longer term, if historical fractals repeat.

Challenges

• Profit-Taking Risk: With over 85% of holders sitting on gains, sharp corrections from overextended levels remain a real possibility.
• Inflationary Supply: Ripple’s monthly escrow releases continue to outweigh the modest deflationary burn from transaction fees.
• Macro Uncertainty: Hawkish Fed policy or renewed global risk aversion could shift capital toward safer assets, pressuring XRP’s rally.
• Volatility: Whale flows and derivatives positioning remain a double-edged sword, amplifying both rallies and corrections.

XRP’s performance through the rest of 2025 will hinge on whether it can convert regulatory clarity and institutional momentum into sustainable adoption, while weathering macroeconomic shifts and profit-driven sell-offs. The balance of these forces could make the difference between a historic breakout or a sobering retracement.