In the cryptocurrency industry, where thousands of assets appear and disappear, sustainability and real-world use cases are key selection criteria. XRP, developed by Ripple, has remained relevant for over a decade despite market volatility and a lengthy court battle with the SEC. Its goal from the start was not speculation but to solve a real problem: international transfers.
XRP has returned to the spotlight. Following greater legal clarity, it’s emerging as a leading candidate for the role of an infrastructure token within the global financial system. This article explores the factors driving XRP’s renewed popularity, the technology and institutional backing behind it, and why a growing number of investors are turning to XRP as a strategic asset.
Section 1. Ripple vs. SEC: End of Uncertainty
The legal battle between Ripple Labs and the SEC has held back XRP since 2020. The main question is whether the token is a security. In 2023, the court partially sided with Ripple, and in March 2025, the parties settled: Ripple agreed to pay a $50 million fine – significantly less than the originally stated demands.
After the dispute was resolved, major crypto exchanges—including Coinbase and Binance.US—relisted XRP. More importantly, the case established a legal precedent that clarified how regulators may classify cryptocurrencies with demonstrable utility.
Section 2. XRP’s Utility Value: Beyond Speculation
On-Demand Liquidity (ODL)
XRP is an intermediate asset in cross-border payments, eliminating the need for pre-funded accounts. The RippleNet platform already works with banks and payment systems in approximately 50 countries.
For example, the Mexican exchange Bitso and the Philippines’ Coins.ph use ODL to facilitate money transfers between the US, Mexico, and Asia. This isn’t theory — it’s a working financial infrastructure with XRP at its core.
Tokenization of Real World Assets (RWA)
In 2024, Ripple launched its platform for tokenizing securities. Ondo Finance and BlackRock introduced a product based on XRPL, backed by U.S. Treasury bonds. That opened up the possibility of earning income from traditional assets on the blockchain. By 2025, more than $500 million in assets had been tokenized through XRPL.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) on XRPL
In late 2024, XRPL implemented an AMM (automated market maker) at the protocol level. This increased liquidity and reduced fees in decentralized trading. Research has shown that XRPL’s AMM outperforms its Ethereum counterparts in terms of speed and accuracy of price pair formation.
The integration of DeFi solutions makes the XRP ecosystem more attractive to developers and traders, providing a foundation for new financial instruments.
Additionally, in 2025, Ripple introduced tools for cross-chain bridges between XRPL and other networks, including Ethereum and Solana. This facilitated cross-protocol liquidity flows and enabled the issuance of wrapped XRP across multiple blockchain ecosystems. This new level of interoperability makes XRP a convenient tool for decentralized platforms and multi-chain architecture.
Section 3. Adoption at the Institutional Level
Banking Integration
The largest financial institutions use RippleNet to speed up international transfers. Ripple partners include Santander, Standard Chartered, SBI Remit, Tranglo. In 2025, this group was joined by American and European regional banks seeking to reduce transaction times and costs.
Ripple is also active in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where there is high demand for alternative payment solutions to SWIFT.
In Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria, RippleNet is seeing rapid adoption in mobile fintech applications. Kaiko estimates that Ripple transactions in these countries have grown by 140% in the first 5 months of 2025.
Central Banks and CBDC
Ripple is partnering with central banks to pilot digital currencies. Between 2024 and 2025, Bhutan, Georgia, and Colombia conducted CBDC pilot programs, using the XRPL as the settlement layer for interbank transactions.
In May 2025, Ripple partnered with the European Digital Liquidity Consortium (EDLC), which aims to develop interoperable settlement protocols between CBDCs and tokenized assets. XRP is considered a bridge asset in these initiatives.
Market Dynamics and Analytics
As of June 2025, XRP is trading at around $2.10. After stabilizing its legal status, the token has shown growth of more than 80% since the beginning of the year.
According to analysts:
- Bitpanda expects XRP to grow to $5 with active integration into CBDC platforms.
- InvestingHaven points to a potential $9 by 2030.
- CoinShares notes that XRP is one of the few altcoins that has a stable institutional inflow of funds.
According to Messari’s research from April 2025, over 45% of all transactions on XRPL are from institutional accounts, making XRP one of the most actively used tokens in real-world scenarios.
All this makes the argument in favor of investing in XRP decisions more convincing, especially against the backdrop of falling interest in meme tokens and speculative assets.
Section 5. Risks and Limitations
Despite the positive trends, XRP remains susceptible to:
- general volatility of the crypto market;
- pressure from competitors (e.g. Stellar and Algorand);
- dependence on the decisions of Ripple as a commercial entity.
Another issue is the perception of XRP as a centralized asset. Although XRPL operates in a decentralized manner, Ripple holds a significant amount of tokens, which puts pressure on the market. The company regularly releases reports on the volume of XRP unlocked from escrow accounts to ensure transparency.
Investors must understand that even an asset with utilitarian value does not guarantee profit. A reliable strategy is diversification and assessment of market conditions.
Section 6. XRP and the Infrastructure of the “New SWIFT”
One of Ripple’s strategic goals is to create a global alternative to SWIFT. Since 2023, several jurisdictions have piloted RippleNet as a platform for real-time settlement. Unlike SWIFT, which merely facilitates messaging between banks, RippleNet offers end-to-end transaction processing, enabling faster and more transparent cross-border payments.
XRP-based payment gateways allow banks to reduce operational costs, operate 24/7, and reduce the number of correspondent accounts. RippleNet is already replacing SWIFT in several small and medium business segments in Latin American countries.
In 2025, Ripple announced a pilot integration of the system with digital bond platforms in Japan and South Korea. This expands the use of XRP in the capital markets sector.
Conclusion
XRP is more than just a cryptocurrency with a history. It is a functional tool embedded in real-world payment systems, tokenization infrastructure, and the emerging DeFi space. Legal clarity, institutional trust, and technological breakthroughs make XRP relevant for analysis and strategic investment in 2025.
While some traders focus on volatility, others look for tokens with a clear utility function. In this context, the decision to invest in XRP becomes not speculation, but part of a long-term financial strategy.
Amid accelerating efforts to tokenize assets, reform cross-border payments, and digitize national currencies, XRP stands out as a credible component of the emerging financial infrastructure. While risks remain, they are mitigated by the token’s broad range of real-world use cases. In this context, XRP is one of the few altcoins actively integrated into the financial system—not just reflected on traders’ charts.
