XRP has exploded into 2025 as the breakout cryptocurrency, surpassing rivals thanks to ETF inflows, regulatory breakthroughs, and a $1.25 billion Ripple acquisition driving institutional dominance.

XRP Leads the Way with ETF Growth, Clearer Rules, and a Major Ripple Acquisition
Ripple Labs released its Q1 2025 XRP Market Report earlier this week, highlighting XRP’s outsized market performance, growing institutional adoption, and large regulatory solutions. This is the final report in its current format, as Ripple has cited misuse by former SEC chiefs. XRP updates will now be shared publicly, with holdings disclosed on the company’s website.

The report offers an optimistic outlook on XRP’s Q1 market performance, highlighting its strength amid broader crypto volatility. Ripple stated:

Despite the volatility, XRP stood out as the top performer, demonstrating resilience amid market volatility and outperforming nearly every major cryptocurrency.

“Throughout Q1, XRP outperformed assets like BTC and ETH — at one point up nearly 50% in early February. While ETH and SOL trended sharply lower and BTC hovered near breakeven, XRP demonstrated clear relative strength,” Ripple added.

Institutional support grew amid a surge in exchange-traded fund (ETF) activity. XRP exchange-traded products (ETPs) saw global growth through more listings and inflows. The report notes that XRP-based investment products outperformed those tied to bitcoin and ethereum, recording $37.7 million in inflows and bringing the year-to-date total to $214 million—just $1 million short of surpassing the total number of Ethereum funds globally. Notably, Franklin Templeton filed an S-1 for a U.S. spot XRP ETF, CME announced plans to launch XRP futures, and Volatility Shares filed for three XRP-focused ETFs. Brazil’s Comissão de Valores Mobiliários approved a dedicated XRP ETF, and Teucrium’s 2x Daily Long-Term XRP ETF launched with $5 million in trading volume, placing it in the top 5% of new ETF launches globally.

Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, one of the largest mergers in crypto history, underscored the company’s growing presence. The company asserts:

Over time, Hidden Road will leverage the XRP Ledger to streamline a number of post-trade operations, including FX, swap, and repo markets, to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency.

In addition, Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, will be used as collateral across Hidden Road’s entire product suite, bringing Ripple’s infrastructure into the organization’s workflow.

On the regulatory front, the SEC withdrew its appeal against Ripple, agreeing to reduce the penalty from $125 million to $50 million and asking the court to vacate the injunction. Combined with favorable developments from the new U.S. administration—including the repeal of SAB 121, updated OCC crypto custody guidance, and FDIC policy revisions—Ripple describes this changing environment as a turning point for regulatory clarity in the U.S.