What’s the latest related to Ripple and its ecosystem?
Ripple has taken center stage over the last few days, and it’s only due to the price resurgence of its native cryptocurrency. In the following lines, we will outline the most recent and important developments surrounding its ecosystem.
Global Expansion and Future Plans
Earlier this week, numerous popular X users revealed that Ripple has strengthened its presence in Japan by inking strategic collaborations with local banks like Mizuho Bank, SMBC Nikko, and Securitize Japan.
“We aren’t just talking about payments anymore, we’re talking tokenized securities and real-world assets on the XRPL,” PaulBarron commented.
Due to regulatory challenges in the US in recent years, Ripple shifted its focus abroad, and Asia has become a key area. Last month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) granted the company a special license that allows it to offer additional services to local clients. Other Asian countries where Ripple has expanded include the UAE, Thailand, and others.
In Q4, the company secured a $500 million funding round, bringing its total valuation to a staggering $40 billion. Some industry participants have speculated that Ripple’s next step is to go public, but President Monica Long recently said that such plans are not on the table:
“Currently, we still plan to remain private… We’re in a really healthy position to continue to fund and invest in our company’s growth without going public.”
The ETF Craze
The first company to introduce a spot XRP ETF with 100% exposure to the asset was Canary Capital. This happened in mid-November last year, while Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares followed suit shortly after. Interest in these products has been quite high, as they have generated a cumulative net inflow of approximately $1.25 billion.
Meanwhile, WisdomTree, which seemed like the next company to receive a green light to launch a spot XRP ETF in the US, officially withdrew its S-1 registration.
“The Trust is requesting withdrawal of the Registration Statement because it has determined not to proceed at this time with the offering covered by the Registration Statement. No shares were sold pursuant to the above-mentioned Registration Statement,” the document reads.
XRP: ‘The Hottest Crypto Trade of the Year’
Ripple’s native cryptocurrency jumped by 20% over the past week and currently trades at $2.25 (per CoinGecko’s data). Potential catalysts behind the positive performance include recent inflows into spot XRP ETFs, declining exchange reserves, and an abrupt sell-off by whales.
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The asset took center stage on January 6 after it was described as “the hottest crypto trade of the year” by the financial news media company CNBC. The hosts of the Power Lunch show claimed there is “big money” behind this token, noting the significant interest in the spot XRP ETFs.
Multiple analysts are highly bullish on the asset, expecting further gains in the short term. X user STEPH IS CRYPTO claimed that as of now, XRP is at the same point where it was in 2017 and 2024, just before registering remarkable gains.
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