XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) surged 25% after Ripple outlined a growing set of “institutional DeFi” building blocks on the XRP Ledger designed to make the network viable for regulated financial activity, positioning XRP as a settlement and bridge asset.

The Institutional DeFi Blueprint

Ripple outlined how XRP Ledger will attract banks and financial institutions by solving their biggest concerns: verifying who’s using the network, enabling private transactions, and offering lending facilities.

Here’s what’s already working: the ledger can verify user identities before letting them trade, process multiple transactions at once, and create different types of tokens. 

Coming soon are lending markets and private transfers that hide transaction details from public view. This matters because banks won’t use public blockchains where anyone can participate anonymously. 

XRPL built identity verification directly into the system from the start, rather than adding it later like Ethereum did.

XRP acts as the bridge. When someone wants to convert dollars to euros or move stablecoins across borders, XRP sits in the middle of the transaction, automatically connecting the two assets. 

Every transaction burns small amounts of XRP as fees, creating constant demand for the token.

The Lending Protocol Launch

The introduction of XLS-65/66—the XRPL lending protocol—will offer pooled and underwritten credit on-ledger without entirely offloading risk logic on-chain. 

Single asset vaults, fixed-term lending, and optional permissioning tools are designed for institutional risk managers while operating in an on-chain settlement context.

Privacy features like confidential transfers for MPTs arrive in Q1, aiming to satisfy enterprise and regulatory expectations around transaction-level anonymity and controlled disclosure.

Addressing the EVM gap, the new EVM sidechain bridged via Axelar lets Solidity developers tap XRPL liquidity and identity features while accessing familiar tooling. 

Critics have long pointed to XRPL’s lack of EVM-style programmability as a hindrance.

XRP Technical Analysis

XRP is up 25%, showing a violent relief rally after testing $1.18-$1.20 lows. 

The Bollinger Bands show XRP at the upper band around $2.17 after bouncing sharply from the lower band at $1.36.

However, XRP remains below the middle Bollinger Band at $1.7660—a bearish signal.

The descending trendline from all-time highs intersects around $1.80-$2.00 and represents major resistance.

The RSI at 38.36 shows bouncing from deeply oversold territory but remains well below 50, confirming momentum stays bearish despite the massive rally. 

Critical support sits at $1.50-$1.62. If the bounce fails, XRP could retest $1.36 lows or potentially break toward $1 psychological support.

Image source: Shutterstock