The
What the XRP Ledger Will Achieve in 2025
XRPL dUNL validator Vet said 2025 was “great” in several areas, led by smart contracts achieving an environment that developers can actively test. “Smart contracts, lots of development to get the alpha testnet out – you can deploy and play with it today,” Vet wrote. “Much more community awareness.” The implication is simple: the work is no longer purely theoretical and the ecosystem can begin to turn curiosity into actual implementations.
However, DeFi did not maintain its previous pace. Vet wrote that XRP DeFi “came out of 2024 strong with meme coins,” but that “activity dried up over the course of the year.” Still, he argued that the bottom is higher than before: “The DEX base activity is higher than before,” he wrote, describing 2026 as an opportunity to “build it out” into something more sustainable.
XRP Ledger 2025 was great in all these areas.
– Smart contracts, lots of development to release the alpha testnet – you can deploy and play with it today. Much more community awareness.
– XRP DeFi came out of 2024 strong with meme coins, activity dried up over the… https://t.co/jJViTdWqYL
— Veterinarian (@Vet_X0) December 29, 2025
In terms of interoperability, Vet highlighted one year of shipping. “On the interoperability side, we got Wormhole live, Axelar live + bridged yield-bearing issued assets to the XRPL,” he wrote. He also pointed out a possible technical direction for the next phase: “ZKP appears to be a catalyst for trust-minimized bridging,” suggesting that zero-knowledge proofs could reduce dependence on high-trust bridge designs.
XRPL’s app layer has improved, but without a breakthrough winner. “Existing projects and wallets on the XRPL have massively doubled,” Vet wrote. “More polished, new features and integrations. Not a new app that has taken over the community.” That’s important because UX improvements contribute to retention, but big growth usually follows a flagship product that creates its own gravity.
Tokenization was another bright spot, with Vet calling it “very strong with RLUSD,” alongside “smaller launches from other stables and tokenized funds.” Still, he cited distribution as a sticking point: “Distribution channels of those assets is still something we need to work on,” he wrote, tying this directly to the health of DeFi and applications. Issuance alone is not enough; assets need liquidity, integrations and pathways to end-user products.
What needs to improve in 2026
Anodos Finance co-founder and CEO Panos Mekras used a post to outline what he wants to see next year, arguing that XRPL must prioritize both infrastructure and incentives.
“Seeing batch transactions and sponsored fees/reserves live as quickly as possible, which is key to removing friction and onboarding mass consumers,” Panos wrote. “More quality assets are coming to
My top 3 wishes for the XRPL ecosystem in 2026
1. See batch transactions and sponsored fees/reserves live as quickly as possible, which is key to removing friction and onboarding mass consumers.
2. More quality assets are coming to XRPL, especially RWAs: yield-bearing…
— Panos 🔼🇬🇷 (@panosmek) December 29, 2025
Vet replied: “I agree with all three wishes.” Panos also called DEX/AMM liquidity “a serious problem,” calling it a practical constraint on growth rather than an abstract measure.
At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $1.86.
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