Ripple (Ripple) officially announced its latest institutional-level DeFi development roadmap for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) on 2/25 on its official website, aiming to make XRPL a secure and scalable L1 public chain and attract financial institutions to use blockchain technology in a compliant environment.
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ToggleRipple Launches Institutional-Level DeFi Plan for XRP Ledger, Strengthening Blockchain Finance Applications
Ripple stated that this plan will focus on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), credit-based DeFi lending protocols, and a new multi-purpose Token (MPT) standard, all of which will integrate XRPL's decentralized identity (DID) technology to ensure regulatory compliance.
Furthermore, Ripple emphasized that the plan will be built on existing infrastructure, including Oracles and Automated Market Makers (AMMs), to accelerate the DeFi ecosystem development of XRPL.
XRP Price Surges 300%, but On-Chain Activity Still Lags Behind Ethereum
Recently, the XRP price has surged significantly, rising over 300% since the Trump era. As of February 26, the XRP market capitalization is around $128 billion, making it one of the top five cryptocurrencies globally.
However, despite the XRP price increase, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on the XRPL chain is still far behind its competitors, such as Ethereum's $50 billion, with XRPL only at around $80 million, indicating room for growth in its DeFi ecosystem.
This is related to the fact that XRPL did not support third-party smart contracts in the past, and the current DeFi applications on the network, such as AMMs, are primarily driven by Ripple's development team. Nevertheless, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed in January that the XRPL DEX had processed over $1 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since its launch in 2024, suggesting market demand for it.
(Trump Effect Continues! Ripple CEO Says 75% of Roles are US-Based: Trump Bull Market is a Done Deal)
Can Institutional-Level DeFi Turn the Tide for XRPL, Ripple Sees Trillion-Dollar Dollar Market
Ripple hopes to drive a new wave of growth for XRPL through institutional-level DeFi and Real-World Assets (RWA) applications. According to Polygon's Global Head of Institutional Capital, Colin Butler, the RWA tokenization market has a potential size of $30 trillion, presenting a massive opportunity.
Additionally, with Donald Trump's presidency, the US crypto regulatory policy may shift in a more favorable direction, further supporting Ripple's development:
- Trump has promised to make the US a "global crypto hub" and plans to appoint crypto-friendly officials to manage the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- Several asset management companies have already applied for XRP spot ETFs, and according to JP Morgan's analysis, if an XRP ETF is approved, it could attract billions of dollars in inflows.
- The SEC's lawsuit against Ripple may be withdrawn. This case has been affecting the XRP market since 2022, but the SEC's recent decision to drop its investigation into the decentralized exchange Uniswap suggests that the regulatory body may adjust its stance on cryptocurrencies under the Trump administration, potentially benefiting Ripple's case.
(Ondo Finance to Tokenize US Treasuries on XRP Ledger, Supporting RLUSD Stablecoin Conversion)
XRPL Develops Institutional-Level DeFi, Promising Future Ahead
Ripple's institutional-level DeFi development roadmap aims to attract financial institutions to XRPL in a compliant environment and enhance its competitiveness through RWA tokenization, lending protocols, DEXs, and new Token standards. However, the current on-chain activity on XRPL is still far behind Ethereum, and whether this plan can turn the tide remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, with the support of the Trump administration, the potential listing of ETFs, and the SEC's softening regulatory stance, the future development of XRP and XRPL is worth continued attention.
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