Key Takeaways
How has Ripple grown this year?
It has expanded its stablecoin offering, rolled out custody, and established a brokerage unit.
Is growth visible for the XRP token?
No, the altcoin has been under the whims of broader market sentiment.
Institutions are now betting on XRP more than native crypto players. In fact, according to Coinglass, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), known for institutional players, has now surpassed Binance in the XRP Futures market.
The CME now commands a whopping $1 billion in Open Interest (OI), underscoring a relatively higher liquidity depth and market participation for XRP speculators.
Source: Coinglass
What’s driving XRP institutional interest?
Ripple has made several partnerships this year to expand its stablecoin (RLUSD), settlement, and crypto custody businesses.
With the pro-crypto shift under the Trump Administration, several crypto ETFs, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins, have gone live or are expected to be approved soon.
Amid the growing interest in stablecoins, trading, and custody of the digital assets, several players, including Ripple, are positioning themselves for the boom.
Apart from the recently launched brokerage arm, Ripple Prime, the firm also unveiled Ripple Custody. The custody line would help other brokerages and banks to keep and manage clients’ crypto assets.
Already, Ripple Custody has bagged key collaborations with Absa Bank, BBVA, and Société Générale FORGE.
At the core of its ongoing vertical integration, XRPL Ledger, its blockchain, and XRP, the native token, have been woven into the mix.
According to the blockchain firm, they’re building an “internet of value.” However, the XRP token has struggled to recapture the $3-value since October.
The altcoin was down 37% from its 2025 peak of $3.6 and traded at $2.3 at press time. Interestingly, the CME’s OI hit a record $1.4 billion last month during a failed recovery attempt.
Source: Glassnode
The sustained correction to $2 this week saw the CME’s OI skid to $914 million. However, it was back over $1B after XRP secured the $2-level.
If institutions continue pouring money into XRP markets, the token could reverse its recent losses.
Besides, top asset managers, including Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and Canary Capital, are getting ready to launch Spot XRP ETFs this month.
In the near term though, sentiment may still be bearish with a hike in hedging. This can be evidenced by the negative 7-day 25 Delta Skew (red).
Source: Amberdata
On the contrary, the two and three-week Skew were positive at press time – Hinting at a neutral to positive market outlook by the end of November.