Ripple and its native token XRP are entering a new phase of development and market positioning, as two parallel trends converge: growing calls for native staking on the XRP Ledger and the strong debut of a new XRP-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) from Canary Capital. Together, they signal a shift in how investors and developers view XRP — not just as a fast payments asset, but as a broader investment and yield-bearing instrument.
The XRP Ledger community has been increasingly vocal about the need for native staking functionality. At present, XRP is primarily used for payments, liquidity provision, and certain DeFi-style operations through third-party solutions. Native staking, if introduced, would bring the XRP ecosystem closer to what already exists on other major blockchains, where token holders can lock assets to help secure the network or support protocol operations in exchange for yield.
Community discussions have focused on integrating staking at the protocol level, rather than relying solely on external platforms. This would potentially allow XRP holders to earn rewards directly on the XRP Ledger, while also improving network participation and alignment between users, validators, and infrastructure providers. Such a feature could also open the door to more sophisticated DeFi products built natively on XRP, including lending markets, structured yield products, or collateral-backed strategies.
So far, Ripple has not released any official roadmap, technical specification, or timeline for native staking on the XRP Ledger. The absence of a formal announcement has not stopped speculation, however. Industry observers suggest that if staking is implemented, it will need to be carefully designed to maintain the ledger’s speed, low fees, and reliability, which are central to its use in cross-border payments. Any change that affects consensus, validator incentives, or tokenomics will require extensive testing and broad ecosystem support.
While the technical side is still in the discussion phase, the financial markets are already reacting to renewed interest in XRP. The launch of Canary Capital’s XRP-focused ETF, trading under the ticker XRPC, is a major step in making XRP more accessible to traditional investors. This ETF is a physical spot fund that holds only XRP as its underlying asset, aiming to mirror the token’s price movements via the CME CF XRP-USD Reference Rate.
On its first trading day, XRPC posted approximately 58 million dollars in volume, slightly edging out the launch of Bitwise’s BSOL ETF, which debuted with around 57 million dollars. That performance puts XRPC among the strongest ETF launches of 2025 and well ahead of the vast majority of the roughly 900 new funds introduced this year. For an asset class still seen by some as volatile and speculative, that level of demand is notable.
The strong debut came during a period of weakness in the broader crypto market. Bitcoin had slipped below 99,000 dollars, and total crypto market capitalization fell about 3.5 percent to around 3.43 trillion dollars. Despite this backdrop, trading activity in XRPC remained impressive: roughly 26 million dollars in volume changed hands within the first half hour of trading, and more than 36 million dollars by mid-morning. Rapid order flow on mainstream brokerage platforms underscored the appetite for regulated XRP exposure.
XRPC carries a 0.50 percent annual management fee and relies on Gemini Trust and BitGo Trust for institutional-grade custody of its XRP holdings. For many professional investors, custodial complexity and operational risk are major barriers to direct crypto ownership. By wrapping XRP in an ETF structure, Canary Capital is positioning XRPC as a streamlined way for institutions and more traditional market participants to tap into XRP’s utility in cross-border payments and settlement without having to manage private keys, wallets, or on-chain operations.
Canary Capital is not a newcomer to the digital asset ETF space. Based in Tennessee, the firm has previously launched funds tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and HBAR. Its strategy appears focused on tokens with clear use cases, particularly in payments and enterprise infrastructure. Analysts have drawn a connection between XRPC’s strong launch and earlier success with Canary’s HBAR ETF, which reportedly attracted 70 million dollars in its first week, suggesting that investor demand is solid for tokens perceived as having real-world utility rather than purely speculative narratives.
At the time of the latest data, XRP was trading around 2.10 dollars, down about 5.4 percent on the day. The price pullback reflects the broader market downturn rather than a specific XRP-only catalyst. Still, the contrast between short-term price weakness and strong institutional product launches highlights an important dynamic: derivative and ETF products can thrive even when spot prices are under pressure, as long as investors believe in the asset’s medium- to long-term role in the ecosystem.
The growing conversation around staking is central to that long-term thesis. For years, XRP’s value proposition revolved around speed, low transaction costs, and suitability for cross-border payments and remittances. As competition from other payment-focused and DeFi-enabled networks has intensified, expanding XRP’s functionality has become increasingly important. Native staking could transform XRP from a primarily transactional asset into one that also generates yield, enhancing its appeal to both retail holders and institutional portfolios seeking crypto income strategies.
Staking on other networks has often served a dual purpose: it reinforces network security or performance and offers token holders additional incentives to keep assets within the ecosystem instead of selling or moving to competing platforms. While the XRP Ledger uses a consensus model distinct from traditional proof-of-stake systems, any new design for staking would likely explore ways to reward long-term alignment with network health and liquidity without compromising the ledger’s core architecture.
If implemented thoughtfully, staking could also increase on-chain activity, as users adjust their strategies between holding, transacting, and locking up XRP for rewards. This, in turn, may stimulate new protocol-level features, wallet integrations, and institutional services built specifically for staking management, performance analytics, and risk monitoring. It could also encourage exchanges and custodians to roll out dedicated XRP staking products.
The intersection between staking and ETFs is another emerging angle. While the current XRPC structure is a straightforward physical spot ETF that simply holds XRP and tracks its price, future product designs might consider how staking rewards or yield components could be integrated. In other asset classes, income-generating ETFs that distribute dividends or yield have attracted a distinct investor base. If XRP gains a robust staking layer, it is plausible that product issuers will eventually explore ways to pass some of that yield back to ETF shareholders, subject to regulatory and operational constraints.
From a regulatory perspective, the appearance of XRP-centric ETFs also signals that oversight bodies and market operators are increasingly comfortable with listing and trading products tied to a broader range of digital assets. This may indirectly support the case for expanding protocol functionalities like staking, as more regulated capital flows into the ecosystem and demands clearer governance, transparency, and risk frameworks. At the same time, any change in protocol-level token economics may be scrutinized more closely when billions of dollars could be indirectly exposed through exchange-traded products.
For XRP holders, these developments raise practical questions. In the near term, investors must decide whether to hold XRP directly, gain exposure via instruments such as XRPC, or combine both approaches. Direct holdings may offer more flexibility if and when native staking becomes available, allowing users to participate in on-chain reward programs, governance discussions, and DeFi integrations. ETFs, by contrast, may be more suitable for investors who prioritize regulatory oversight, ease of access through brokerage accounts, and simplified tax and reporting treatment.
Longer term, XRP’s trajectory will likely depend on how well it balances its original payments-focused mission with these newer investment and yield-focused narratives. Expanding into staking and institutional ETFs does not have to dilute its role as a cross-border settlement asset. In fact, increased liquidity, broader investor participation, and new yield mechanisms can reinforce the foundation that payment applications rely on, making XRP more resilient and versatile in a competitive crypto landscape.
What is clear is that XRP is evolving. Community discussions about staking suggest a desire to keep pace with the wider DeFi and proof-of-stake ecosystem, while the success of Canary Capital’s XRPC ETF shows that demand for structured, regulated XRP exposure is real and growing. Whether the next few years bring fully native staking or new generations of income-oriented XRP investment products, the combination of technical innovation and financial engineering is poised to shape the token’s role in the digital asset market well beyond simple payments.