XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is down 48% from its $3.65 peak in July peak, despite Ripple Labs spending $2.7 billion in 2025 on acquiring a prime brokerage, treasury management, and stablecoin infrastructure.
SEC Settlement Ended Four-Year Battle
Ripple’s transformation began after it settled its four-year legal battle with the U.S. SEC.
In August, both sides dropped their appeals, reinforcing a 2023 ruling that separated institutional XRP sales from retail activity.
The move lifted a long-standing regulatory overhang that had limited Ripple’s growth since 2020 and coincided with a broader shift toward a more Trump’s crypto-friendly U.S. policy stance.
The $2.7B Acquisition Spree
Ripple’s 2025 strategy centered on acquisitions rather than XRP price action, with roughly $2.7 billion deployed to build a full-stack financial platform.
The company spent $1.25 billion in April to acquire Hidden Road, rebranded as Ripple Prime, making it the first crypto firm to own a global multi-asset prime broker.
Since acquisition, Ripple Prime’s business reportedly grew 3x.
In October, Ripple added GTreasury for $1 billion, gaining enterprise access to Fortune 500 clients such as American Airlines Group Inc., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., and Volvo AB, along with exposure to more than $12.5 trillion in annual payment flows.
Smaller deals included Rail for $200 million in August and wallet provider Palisade, completing Ripple’s shift beyond payments into broader financial services.
RLUSD Stablecoin Hits $1.3B Market Cap
Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD launched in December 2024 but gained momentum throughout 2025, reaching a $1.3 billion market cap by year-end.
That ranks it as the 11th largest stablecoin despite being less than a year old.
Key developments include a partnership with Mastercard Inc., for credit card settlements and regulatory approval in Singapore.
In December, Ripple also received conditional approval for a National Bank Charter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with reserves held at Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
XRP ETFs Generated $1B In Inflows Despite Price Drop
XRP joined the ETF market in 2025, with the first product from Rex Shares and Osprey Funds debuting with $38 million in day-one volume.
Subsequently, spot ETFs from Canary Capital, Grayscale, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton entered the market.
By December, XRP spot ETFs generated nearly $1 billion in net inflows without a single day of outflows through mid-December.
Additionally, ETF assets under management crossed $1.25 billion by late December, making XRP the fastest cryptocurrency to reach the $1 billion ETF milestone since Ethereum’s (CRYPTO: ETH) ETF launch.
However, the institutional demand through ETFs didn’t translate to surging prices.
Native Lending Coming To XRP Ledger
Ripple plans to roll out native lending on the XRP Ledger in 2026 through XRPL Version 3.0.0, shifting the network beyond payments into institutional-grade DeFi.
Ripple engineer Edward Hennis said the amendments are expected to enter validator voting in late January 2026, allowing market makers to borrow XRP or RLUSD and holders to earn yield by lending to credit facilities.
Apart from this, RippleNet has expanded to more than 300 banks and financial institutions as of November 2025.
That same month, Ripple raised $500 million from global investors at a $40 billion valuation, which CEO Brad Garlinghouse described as a clear endorsement of the company’s long-term growth strategy.
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