The XRP token has experienced a significant transformation in 2025, marked by explosive price gains and a shift in its core narrative. In July, the token reached an all-time high of $3.58, driven in part by determined legal victories. Additionally, Ripple has made significant strides in expanding the XRP footprint in the DeFi ecosystem, including the launch of the RLUSD stablecoin and the introduction of the XRPL EVM Sidechain.
The basis for XRP’s breakout was laid when the SEC resolved its lawsuit against Ripple, removing a significant regulatory overhang that had suppressed institutional interest for years. This legal decision, combined with a crypto-friendly political framework, catalyzed a wider bull market across digital assets. Institutional investors have also participated in a speculative rotation to cryptocurrencies with large market capitalization, recognizing XRP as a legitimate layer for capital and speculative trading.
Growth and Momentum of XRP
The concentration dynamics of XRP reveal a sophisticated institutional ownership structure, similar to traditional financial assets. The top 10 wallets control approximately 41% of the circulating supply, expanding to 50% among the top 20 owners and over 70% within the top 100. This concentration pattern is more indicative of institutional capital allocation than retail speculation.
The transformation of the token from an earlier cycle to a favorite gained significant validation with the integration of Coinbase. In July, the exchange launched CBXRP, a wrapped token supported 1-1 by XRP, specifically designed for cross-chain functionality. This infrastructure development immediately unlocks new application cases, with Moonwell being the first major DeFi protocol to support CBXRP, enabling community members to borrow and lend the wrapped token within the platform’s DeFi ecosystem.
Source: defirisk.sentora.com
The growth of CBXRP on Moonwell has been steady, gradually increasing to over $1.2 million since its introduction in June. While this may be modest compared to XRP’s typical headlines of several billion dollars, it marks an important milestone on XRP’s DeFi journey.
Expansion into DeFi
The expansion of XRP into decentralized finance represents a natural progression for what Gabriel Halm from Sentora describes as a blockchain that has “successfully established itself as a digital payment network,” with DeFi development being “an intuitive next step in creating a comprehensive financial ecosystem for XRP.” This evolution addresses a critical gap in XRP’s utility, as the token was historically missing basic DeFi primitives.
Flare Network has emerged as an infrastructure provider for XRP DeFi by introducing F-Assets, which enables XRP owners to convert their tokens into FXRP, a wrapped version of XRP. This operates in a non-custodial, trust-minimized framework, utilizing smart contracts to verify chain ownership.
Upcoming Yield Opportunities for XRP in DeFi
While users can currently earn a modest return (around 0.1%) by providing CBXRP on Moonwell, significantly higher returns on the horizon can be expected with the upcoming launch of the Flare protocol, Firelight. Firelight aims to bring Ethereum-like security and yield generation to the XRP ecosystem, enabling innovative DeFi applications, such as chain insurance, which were previously not feasible.
As Hugo Philion, co-founder of Flare Network, explains: “Firelight offers opportunities for chain yield, both for institutions and retail owners, improving capital efficiency for XRP and further strengthening its utility.”
Looking Ahead
The growth narrative of XRP is shifting from short-term price cycles to long-term structural development. The convergence of regulatory clarity, institutional adoption, and DeFi expansion, driven by platforms such as Base, Moonwell, Flare, and Firelight, extends the utility of XRP and potentially creates it as a yield application.
Although it may not be a dominant force in DeFi, these developments could strengthen the role of XRP as a bridge between traditional finance and emerging on-chain opportunities. For more information, visit https://cryptoslate.com/whats-behind-xrps-move-to-defi/
