Evernorth, a treasury firm focused on XRP and backed by major players like Ripple, Kraken, Pantera Capital, and SBI Holdings, is making waves in the financial sector. The firm recently announced to institutional investors that legitimate banks are currently utilizing XRP. They assert that the next 18 months will be pivotal, not merely in terms of adoption news, but regarding the extent of adoption and the regulatory frameworks involved.
A significant uptick in daily transactions on the XRP Ledger has been noted, rising to nearly 3 million from around 1 million in mid-2025, with financial entities such as Bitstamp, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, and Braza Bank leading the charge. While these figures signify a robust increase in activity, the real implications for banking utility remain a topic for debate.
The XRP Ledger’s transaction volume has tripled over the past year, with at least one major European bank opting to deploy its regulated euro stablecoin on the XRP platform, marking it as one of four public chains for this purpose. Yet, the underlying data presents a more nuanced picture regarding whether this volumetric spike signifies substantive banking infrastructure or if it is largely driven by a select group of known entities.
Asheesh Birla, CEO of Evernorth, emphasized in a recent interview that the enduring value of XRP will arise from its use as working capital by banks and businesses, rather than speculative trading dynamics. This perspective establishes a clear benchmark for evaluation: the focus shifts from retail demand to bank-originated settlement volumes. The data currently offers a mixed outlook—while the impressive rise in daily transactions is undeniable, discerning whether this reflects systematic banking adoption or just high-profile trials could be challenging.
The XRP Ledger’s ascension to nearly 3 million daily transactions is genuine, with the financial institutions involved being well-known. For instance, a notable transaction in May 2026 saw a collaboration involving a tokenized U.S. Treasury redemption coordinated by Mastercard, J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys, Ondo Finance, and Ripple—using the XRPL as the shared settlement layer. This was presented by Evernorth as a significant achievement in cross-institutional blockchain transactions.
However, it remains uncertain whether the current activities signify widespread banking adoption or mainly serve as high-profile pilots. Since its introduction in 2018, Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity service has utilized XRP as a bridge asset for cross-border transactions. Although volume in these regions is substantial, it is concentrated geographically, falling short of the expansive banking rail narrative suggested in headlines.
Further complicating the scene is the competitive landscape for institutional settlement liquidity, where XRP faces increasing competition from assets like USDC and various wholesale central bank digital currencies. To address these challenges, the XRPL protocol is undergoing proposed upgrades aimed at expanding its infrastructure to better serve regulated institutions through compliant environments and escrowed settlement flows.
Among these pending amendments is the XLS-66 XRP Lending Protocol, aiming to integrate single-asset XRP vaults and fixed-term loans directly into the ledger, thereby enhancing privacy and reducing reliance on external smart contracts. Currently under validator review, the proposal requires an 80% supermajority to be activated, and while it could unlock substantial opportunities for lending and collateral on the XRPL, its current status is still hypothetical until consensus is achieved.
In summary, while the recent increases in XRP Ledger activity illustrate a shift in dynamics, the extent and implications of this activity for the future of banking infrastructure are still unfolding.
