Ripple Labs Today: $40B Valuation, XRP ETF Boom and RLUSD’s Rise

Published: December 9, 2025 – All figures and forecasts current as of this date. This article is informational and not investment advice.

Where Ripple Labs Stands on December 9, 2025

Ripple Labs, the fintech company behind the XRP cryptocurrency and the XRP Ledger (XRPL), has quietly become one of the most systemically important players in digital finance.

As of November, Ripple closed a $500 million funding round at a $40 billion valuation, led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, with participation from Brevan Howard, Marshall Wace, Pantera and Galaxy Digital. ^[1] The raise follows a $1 billion tender offer earlier in 2025 at the same valuation and cements Ripple as one of the highest‑valued private crypto companies, surpassing rival stablecoin issuer Circle. ^[2]

Operationally, Ripple now spans:

Cross‑border payments via RippleNet and On‑Demand Liquidity (ODL)
XRP, a top‑five crypto asset used as bridge liquidity
RLUSD, a rapidly growing USD‑backed stablecoin
Custody, prime brokerage and treasury services, expanded through acquisitions like Hidden Road and GTreasury ^[3]

In Q2 2025, Ripple’s payment stack (RippleNet and ODL) processed roughly $1.3 trillion in cross‑border volume, according to multiple institutional research reports, highlighting how deeply the network is now embedded in global liquidity flows. ^[4]

All of this is happening against a dramatically improved regulatory backdrop following Ripple’s settlement with the U.S. SEC in August 2025 and the explosive launch of XRP spot ETFs.

Wall Street’s $500 Million Bet: Inside Ripple’s New Funding Round

On November 5, 2025, Reuters and the Financial Times reported that Ripple raised $500 million in a strategic round valuing the company at $40 billion. Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities took lead positions, with additional capital from hedge funds like Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace. ^[5]

Key takeaways from the round:

Validation from traditional finance: Citadel and Fortress are among the most sophisticated players in global markets. Their participation signals growing confidence that Ripple’s business model – especially stablecoins and institutional payments – is durable under new U.S. rules. ^[6]
Stablecoin‑first narrative: FT reporting noted Ripple is increasingly positioning itself as a stablecoin company, with RLUSD at the center, while XRP remains the fourth‑largest cryptocurrency by market cap (around $125–133 billion). ^[7]
M&A and infrastructure: The funding follows acquisitions of prime broker Hidden Road (~$1.25 billion), corporate treasury platform GTreasury (~$1 billion), and payments startup Rail (~$200 million), extending Ripple from a payments middleware provider into a full institutional stack. ^[8]

Separate reporting indicates the share sale was structured with downside protection and long‑dated liquidity options for investors, giving Wall Street a relatively cushioned way to bet on Ripple’s growth. ^[9] That makes the round both a strong vote of confidence and a future obligation Ripple must manage.

After the SEC: How Legal Clarity Changed XRP’s Trajectory

Ripple’s long‑running battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began in December 2020 and effectively ended in August 2025.

In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is not a security when traded on public exchanges, but that certain institutional sales were unregistered securities offerings. ^[10]
On August 8, 2025, the SEC officially ended the lawsuit. Ripple agreed to pay a $125 million civil penalty, and both sides dropped their remaining appeals. ^[11]
Multiple analyses now describe XRP as a commodity‑like utility token in secondary markets, while institutional transactions remain subject to securities rules. ^[12]

This settlement removed one of the biggest overhangs in crypto.

Research from AInvest, TradingView and others highlights three direct effects:

Re‑listing and access: U.S. exchanges and brokerages that had previously delisted XRP began re‑adding it. ^[13]
Institutional green light: Compliance teams at banks and asset managers began treating XRP similarly to Ether in terms of regulatory risk, enabling XRP‑based ETFs, futures and structured products. ^[14]
ETF pipeline: The legal clarity dovetailed with the SEC’s new generic listing rules for spot crypto ETFs, which dramatically shortened approval timelines and explicitly anticipated XRP products. ^[15]

Put simply: August 2025 is when XRP went from “radioactive” to “allocatable” for mainstream portfolios.

XRP Spot ETFs Smash Through $1.2 Billion AUM

The clearest sign of that shift is in exchange‑traded funds.

By December 9, 2025, at least four U.S. spot XRP ETFs were trading:

Canary XRP ETF (XRPC) – launched Nov. 13, 2025; attracted nearly $250 million on day one, the biggest crypto ETF debut of the year. ^[16]
Bitwise XRP ETF (ticker: XRP) – began trading on the NYSE on Nov. 20 with a 0.34% fee (waived initially on the first $500 million). ^[17]
XRPI – a 1x spot XRP ETF providing direct price exposure. ^[18]
XRPR – another spot ETF with a similar investment objective. ^[19]

According to TradingNEWS data on December 9:

Spot XRP ETFs have surpassed $1.2 billion in total assets under management (AUM).
XRPI and XRPR alone closed at $12.34 and $17.31 respectively, after 16 consecutive days of net inflows totaling $38 million on December 8, with cumulative assets around $1.23 billion across the four U.S. spot funds. ^[20]
Canary’s XRPC still dominates with about 56% market share, holding roughly 335.8 million XRP (~$691 million). ^[21]

Earlier in the week, an Investing.com / TradingNEWS co‑branded analysis reported 15 straight days of inflows totaling $861 million, with AUM “nearing $900 million” – numbers that have now been eclipsed. ^[22]

Other key ETF facts:

Research from several outlets notes XRP is the fastest digital asset ETF to reach $1 billion AUM since Ethereum in 2024. ^[23]
Net ETF flows into XRP have recently outpaced Bitcoin and Solana products, even on days when BTC ETFs see net outflows. ^[24]

This is a foundational shift: XRP exposure is no longer just a spot‑exchange or on‑chain decision; it’s now a regulated ETF allocation decision for pensions, RIAs and hedge funds.

RLUSD: Ripple’s Stablecoin Quietly Nears $1.3 Billion

While XRP grabs headlines, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin (“Ripple USD”) has become a powerful second growth engine.

Key developments as of December 9:

RLUSD’s total market cap is approaching $1.3 billion, up roughly 1,278% year‑to‑date, making it one of the fastest‑growing USD‑pegged stablecoins. ^[25]
Supply on Ethereum alone has passed $1.1 billion, underscoring Ripple’s multi‑chain strategy (Ethereum plus XRPL). ^[26]
RLUSD has been integrated into card settlement pilots with Mastercard and WebBank, and is being used as collateral within Ripple’s institutional network. ^[27]

CoinMarketCap’s RLUSD tracker and multiple independent news outlets describe a 2026 roadmap focused on:

Further multi‑chain expansion beyond XRPL and Ethereum in early 2026
Global reserve and treasury tools, allowing corporates to manage cross‑border dollar liquidity with RLUSD ^[28]

The strategic implication: RLUSD generates on‑chain fees and network activity that burn small amounts of XRP and deepen XRPL liquidity, mildly reducing long‑term sell pressure from Ripple’s XRP holdings while enhancing the network’s role as payment infrastructure. ^[29]

Singapore, Licences and the New Geography of Ripple’s Business

In Asia, Singapore has become Ripple’s primary regulatory hub.

On December 2, Ripple secured a full Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for digital payment token services and cross‑border transfers. ^[30]
On December 8, MAS further expanded Ripple’s license for cross‑border payments, allowing broader corridor coverage and cementing Singapore’s role as a regional blockchain payments hub. ^[31]

AInvest and other analysis pieces argue this regulatory clarity could help push XRP toward $4 by Q2 2026, assuming continued adoption in Southeast Asia and sustained ETF inflows. ^[32]

Meanwhile:

Ripple is working with European regulators, including engagement with Luxembourg’s finance ministry, to deepen EU presence. ^[33]
Partnerships across banks and payment firms now number in the hundreds; some research counts more than 300 financial institutions connected to RippleNet and ODL by late 2025. ^[34]

Put together, Ripple is gradually knitting XRP, RLUSD and its payment software into a multi‑jurisdictional, bank‑friendly stack.

XRPL v3.0.0 and Institutional DeFi: Lending, Tokenization and Privacy

On the technology side, December 9 brought a milestone upgrade.

Ripple’s core node software, rippled v3.0.0, has now shipped, with a protocol revision that lays groundwork for forthcoming on‑chain lending capabilities. ^[35]

This builds on a DeFi roadmap unveiled earlier in the year:

XRPL 3.0.0 roadmap introduces:
- A native lending protocol and Single‑Asset Vaults (standards XLS‑65 & XLS‑66) to enable pooled lending and underwritten credit directly at ledger level ^[36]
- A Multi‑Purpose Token (MPT) standard for real‑world asset (RWA) tokenization
- Credentials, Deep Freeze and Permissioned Domains for KYC‑aware, institution‑friendly DeFi ^[37]
Ripple and Immunefi are running a $200,000 “Attackathon” to stress‑test the lending protocol before it goes live, with specific bounties targeting XLS‑65/66. ^[38]

Messari’s Q3 2025 XRPL report shows:

RWA market cap on XRPL hitting an all‑time high of ~$364 million, up 215% quarter‑over‑quarter, driven by tokenized treasuries, commercial paper and real estate. ^[39]

Taken together, the roadmap is designed to turn XRPL into a compliant institutional DeFi hub, where banks can lend, tokenize and settle on‑chain without relying on bespoke smart contracts or high‑risk DeFi stacks.

XRP Price on December 9, 2025: Stable, but Below the Summer Peak

Market‑wise, XRP is having a mixed day.

BraveNewCoin and TradingNEWS data place XRP between $2.05 and $2.16 on December 9, modestly red on the day but still comfortably above multi‑month support. ^[40]
CryptoPotato notes XRP is trading around $2.08, roughly 45% below its all‑time high near $3.65 set earlier in the 2025 summer rally. ^[41]
XRP’s market capitalization hovers around $125–126 billion, keeping it in the global top five. ^[42]

Despite record ETF inflows, XRP has underperformed Bitcoin during recent BTC surges, including a sudden move that triggered hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidations across the crypto market. ^[43]

TradingNEWS technicals for XRP–USD today highlight:

Short‑term support around $2.04, a key Fibonacci level
Resistance near $2.41, with a breakout zone around $2.65 if ETF‑driven accumulation continues ^[44]

So far, the story is slow grind, not explosive breakout.

What Analysts Are Forecasting for XRP

Forecasts for XRP remain all over the map, but a few themes keep showing up in current research and commentary:

1. Base‑case: Gradual appreciation with ETF and ODL tailwinds

TradingNEWS and Investing.com analysts broadly see a 2026 trading range around $2.00–$3.50, with upside scenarios toward $4.00 if ETF inflows and ODL volumes maintain their current trajectory. ^[45]
24/7 Wall St. argues that growing ODL settlement volume, ETF infrastructure and XRPL upgrades justify whale accumulation and could support a move toward $5 by 2026 if macro conditions stay favorable. ^[46]

2. Singapore‑driven upside

A 24/7 Wall St. analysis tied Ripple’s expanded MAS license and Southeast Asia growth to a scenario where XRP reaches ~$4 by Q2 2026, assuming strong on‑chain activity and continued institutional buying. ^[47]

3. AI and model‑driven projections

A widely shared CryptoPotato piece asked four AI chatbots for year‑end 2025 projections:

Bearish scenarios: a drop toward $1 is “possible” if market conditions worsen and whales resume large‑scale selling.
Bullish extremes: a new all‑time high by Christmas were deemed “extremely unlikely” by most models.
Consensus: the most probable outcome is XRP remaining in roughly the $2–$3 range with neither crash nor euphoric breakout by year‑end. ^[48]

Another modelling piece from TheCryptoBasic speculates on a distant path to $1,000 per XRP, but even that article frames such levels as highly speculative and heavily dependent on long‑term structural shifts in global payments and tokenization. ^[49]

4. Fundamental metric to watch: payment count, not price

A Nasdaq‑hosted article from The Motley Fool today argues that the single most important metric for long‑term XRP investors is the daily number of XRP payment transactions, not price or speculative trading volume. ^[50]

Over the last 30 days, daily payment counts have hovered around 900,000–1,000,000, with wild swings in total value from $396 million to $17 billion.
The author suggests sustained daily payments above 2 million in 2026 would be a strong signal that XRP has broken into mainstream payment usage. ^[51]

Whales vs. Retail: Who’s Actually Buying XRP Right Now?

Fresh data from 24/7 Wall St. shows a striking divergence between big and small holders:

Between September and November 2025, XRP whales accumulated roughly 340 million tokens, raising large‑wallet holdings above 7.8 billion XRP, while retail traders panic‑sold after failing to hold the July peak near $3.67. ^[52]
Whale accumulation has been heaviest between $1.90 and $2.20, treating this band as a long‑term value zone. ^[53]

On‑chain metrics cited in that analysis show:

Exchange balances falling, suggesting coins are moving into long‑term custody
Growing activity in wallets holding 10 million+ XRP, while smaller wallets show net outflows ^[54]

Analysts link this behavior to four perceived drivers:

ODL settlement growth and real‑world payment utility
ETF and CME futures infrastructure, providing predictable institutional demand
Regulatory clarity after the SEC settlement
XRPL upgrades, especially AMMs, RLUSD and upcoming lending features ^[55]

In short: as retail cools, whales and ETFs are quietly absorbing supply.

The Bear Case: What Could Go Wrong for Ripple and XRP?

Despite the momentum, there are real risks.

1. Regulatory hierarchy: XRP still excluded from some elite categories

The CFTC’s new tokenized collateral margin pilot allows only Bitcoin, Ether and USDC as eligible margin assets on U.S. derivatives venues. XRP and RLUSD did not make the initial list. ^[56]

CryptoSlate notes that:

XRP’s domestic liquidity is still lower than BTC and ETH
RLUSD’s U.S. footprint is smaller than USDC’s, despite strong global growth ^[57]

Ripple executives publicly welcomed the pilot as a positive first step, but it underlines that regulatory “blue‑chip” status is still reserved for a very short list of assets.

2. ETF concentration and redemption risk

TradingNEWS data shows Canary’s XRPC controls over half of total XRP ETF assets. ^[58]

Analysts warn that:

Heavy concentration in one fund means a large redemption or strategy shift could amplify volatility
Fee competition (e.g., 21Shares cutting its planned XRP ETF fee to 0.30%) may fragment liquidity but also compress issuer margins ^[59]

3. Execution risk on DeFi and lending

XRPL’s native lending protocol, vault standards and privacy‑oriented ZK roadmap are ambitious. They also introduce:

Smart‑contract‑like complexity at protocol level, which must be thoroughly battle‑tested (hence the $200k Attackathon) ^[60]
Potential reputational risk if early institutional DeFi experiments encounter exploits or fail to meet compliance requirements

4. Macro and sentiment

Outlook for 2026: What to Watch Next

For readers tracking Ripple Labs, XRP and RLUSD into 2026, the most important storylines emerging from today’s data and commentary are:

ETF Flows and AUM
- Do XRP ETFs continue their streak of net inflows and sustain $1.2B+ AUM, or do redemptions accelerate if crypto sentiment turns? ^[63]
RLUSD Growth and Use‑Cases
- Does RLUSD continue its trajectory beyond $1.3B market cap, expand to more chains, and deepen card, bank and DeFi integrations – or does competition from USDC and bank‑issued stablecoins stall it? ^[64]
ODL and Payment Metrics
- Can Ripple sustain or grow $1.3T‑scale quarterly volumes and move daily XRP payment counts toward the 2 million+ level fundamental analysts are watching? ^[65]
XRPL DeFi and Lending Launch
- How quickly do XLS‑65/66 lending primitives go live, and do banks actually use them for real credit markets or stick to more familiar chains? ^[66]
Global Regulation
- Following MAS and EU engagement, does Ripple secure more bank‑grade licenses (e.g., in the U.K., Middle East and Latin America), and does RLUSD gain recognition in additional regulatory sandboxes? ^[67]
Balance Between XRP and RLUSD
- Strategically, Ripple is walking a fine line: RLUSD can drive usage while also competing for attention and capital with XRP. How that balance evolves will matter for XRP’s long‑term investment narrative. ^[68]

Bottom Line

As of December 9, 2025, Ripple Labs sits at the intersection of three powerful trends:

Post‑lawsuit regulatory clarity in the U.S.
Record institutional adoption via ETFs, futures and bank partnerships
Rapid growth of a USD stablecoin (RLUSD) plus an ambitious institutional DeFi roadmap on XRPL

Yet XRP’s price remains in the low‑$2 range, far below its summer high, reminding everyone that infrastructure progress and market repricing rarely move in perfect sync.

For anyone following Ripple and XRP, the story from here is less about a single headline and more about whether real‑world payments, stablecoin flows and DeFi activity keep growing into the rails Ripple is building. Price will follow those fundamentals – but not always on the timeline traders expect.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consider consulting a licensed professional before making investment decisions.