For almost five years, XRP was the crypto token that couldn’t shake its shadow in the courtroom.
This resulted in its price stagnating, being delisted by stock exchanges, and institutional agencies quietly distancing themselves as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) went after Ripple Labs over allegations of unregistered securities sales.
During that time, other assets sprinted ahead. Bitcoin and Ethereum have cemented themselves as blue-chip digital assets. Solana reinvented herself through memecoin mania and on-chain speed.
Meanwhile, XRP, once marketed as the bridge currency for global payments, sat on the sidelines waiting for regulatory clarity that never came.
That clarity finally came in August 2025, when the SEC formally withdrew its remaining claims against Ripple, ending one of the longest-running legal battles in crypto.
With the case finally settled, the regulatory cloud that hung over XRP for years lifted, allowing the token to trade freely on US markets for the first time since 2020 and restoring its place in institutional discussions.
Liquidity returns
Post-settlement, the XRP market structure has changed dramatically. As compliance risk has diminished, liquidity providers have returned to the existing ecosystem.
According to Coinglass factsthe asset’s average daily futures volume has risen from less than $1 billion to more than $10 billion. Notably, volume peaked above $74 billion after Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory.
At the same time, open interest on major derivatives platforms has also increased by more than 1,000% year on year. Moreover, the spot price of XRP has increased by 443%, which is better than Solana and Cardano during the same period.
As a result, the token is now among the most actively traded altcoins in the top 10 by market capitalization.
Analysts at Kaiko attributed the renewed momentum to institutional agencies rebuilding their exposure. In a Q1 report, the company says wrote:
“The average market depth of 1% for
The $1 billion government bond
That institutional momentum is finding new expression through Evernorth, an XRP-focused digital asset treasury company that announced plans to list on the Nasdaq through a SPAC merger.
The transaction is expected to generate over $1 billion in gross proceeds, including a $200 million commitment from SBI Holdings and additional participation from Pantera Capital, Kraken and GSR. Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen is also one of the investors.
Evernorth’s structure is modeled after a corporate treasury vehicle, designed to purchase XRP directly on open markets, seed liquidity pools, and launch institutional return programs. Notably, the company has described its strategy as an “XRP market stabilization and utility initiative.”
If successful, Evernorth’s listing under the ticker XRPN would become the first public vehicle to provide regulated exposure to XRP. This would allow a new wave of institutional funds, pensions and ETFs to buy Evernorth shares and gain indirect exposure to the high-flying digital asset.
Crypto researcher Ripple Bull Winkle believes this would lead to significant adoption and growth of the digital asset and further increase its price.
According to him:
“When a publicly traded company or regulated fund accumulates assets in the open market, every purchase adds real demand. There is no pre-mine, no discounting, no OTC sweetheart deals. It is the buying pressure based on market interest rates that reduces supply.”
The ETF showdown
Parallel to the Evernorth news, XRP’s ETF saga has intensified as several renowned asset managers have applied for approval.
While the ongoing U.S. government shutdown could delay the approval timeline, the amended pre-shutdown documents will ensure the proposals remain active. Still, several industry experts believe the chances of approval for these products remain high.
Should these approvals materialize, several market analysts expect an inflow of $5 to $8 billion within the first year. This would potentially put XRP ETFs among the top three digital asset funds as measured by assets under management.
At the same time, the approval would cement XRP as a legitimate asset class for investors seeking exposure to the emerging industry. This would effectively formalize XRP’s transition from a payment token to a recognized institutional asset class, completing the same market maturity cycle that Bitcoin ETFs achieved earlier this year.
Building the institutional bridge
In addition to speculative flows, Ripple has spent about $3 billion on acquisitions over the past two years to strengthen its payments and custody infrastructure.
During this period, the company acquired Metaco, Hidden Road, Rail and GTreasury, signaling its intention to integrate custody, liquidity management and cross-border payments under one regulated architecture.
At the same time, Ripple applied for a U.S. national banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Monet (OCC) while expanding licenses in more than 60 jurisdictions.
Through its Ripple Payments network, the company now connects banks and fintechs across Europe, the Gulf and Africa. Moreover, it is pursuing partnerships worldwide to strengthen its role in the mainstream financial ecosystem.
These moves suggest a strategy to expand trading volume and integrate XRP into the compliant financial system. The XRP Ledger has already seen its payment transactions grow by over 430% in less than two years and is expected to grow even further.
Taking this into consideration, says Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse declared:
“The past few years have reminded this sector why payments are THE primary use case for crypto and blockchain in the first place. Payments are where Ripple first started, for exactly these reasons: the infrastructure is complex, siled and inefficient, but as we know, perfectly positioned to benefit from decentralized financial technologies.”
