XRP, a cryptocurrency closely associated with Ripple, has experienced a dramatic decline of 48% from its peak of $3.65 reached in July, despite a series of significant regulatory and business developments. The downturn occurs even after the conclusion of a prominent SEC lawsuit favoring Ripple, which ultimately won a decisive ruling in 2023 that differentiated between institutional and retail sales of XRP.
The SEC litigation, which lingered for years, officially came to a close on August 22 when both Ripple and the SEC opted to drop their appeals. This marked a pivotal moment in the cryptocurrency’s narrative, following former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s last-minute appeal just days before he was ousted by former President Donald Trump. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized the SEC’s actions as a “war of legal terror,” claiming that the ongoing lawsuit resulted in approximately $15 billion in losses for XRP investors.
In the months leading up to the launch of new spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for XRP, Ripple made considerable investments to expand its operations. By investing $2.7 billion in acquisitions and diversifications, including a substantial $1.25 billion for Hidden Road—now rebranded as Ripple Prime—the company aims to transition into a comprehensive financial services platform. Ripple Prime has reportedly already expanded its operations threefold, currently processing over 60 million daily transactions.
Additionally, in October, Ripple acquired GTreasury for $1 billion, opening the door to enterprise-level clients, including giants like American Airlines, Goodyear, and Volvo, and tapping into an impressive $12.5 trillion in annual payment flows. Other smaller acquisitions throughout the year included Rail for $200 million and wallet provider Palisade, all indicating Ripple’s aggressive growth strategy.
Despite the promising developments surrounding XRP, the cryptocurrency faced challenges that curtailed its rally. Following the announcement of the settlement on August 8, XRP briefly surged by 8% in a single day with trading volume soaring by 146.3%. However, delays caused by ongoing legal battles and regulatory uncertainties have dampened its growth potential. XRP spot ETFs finally launched in November with the Canary XRP ETF achieving an impressive $58 million in volume on its first day, the highest among ETF debuts for the year. By mid-December, XRP funds accumulated $883 million in net inflows, yet the cryptocurrency itself plummeted to around $1.88.
Ripple’s new stablecoin, RLUSD, introduced to the market in December 2024, reached a market cap of $1.3 billion by the year’s end, ranking as the 11th largest stablecoin. Partnerships with major companies like Mastercard for credit card settlements and regulatory approval in Singapore underscore Ripple’s ambitions. However, RLUSD has captured less than 0.7% of the stablecoin market so far, indicating a slower-than-expected adoption rate.
Several factors contributed to the current state of XRP. Legal delays due to the SEC lawsuit held back institutional adoption and ETF launch activities. The regulatory clarity that would allow banks to engage more robustly with cryptocurrencies has also stalled due to Congressional inaction on the CLARITY Act, which many hope will pass in the first half of 2026.
As Ripple looks ahead, it plans to implement native lending functionalities on the XRP Ledger via the XRPL Version 3.0.0, which aims to transition the network from strictly payments towards serving institutional DeFi needs. The evolving landscape for XRP remains uncertain, with market analysts warning that future developments could lead to a buy-the-rumor, sell-the-news scenario, particularly in light of anticipated regulatory changes.
