Ripple’s XRP Surges 29% in Q3, Eyes SEC Approval for U.S. Spot ETF

• XRP closed Q3 2025 at an all-time high of $2.85 with a market cap of $170.3 billion.
• Seven U.S. spot XRP ETF applications await SEC approval between October 18 and November 14.
• Major companies and institutions worldwide have accumulated over $11 billion in XRP holdings.

According to Messari’s Q3 2025 report, XRP reached a new milestone by closing the quarter at $2.85, marking a 29% quarter-over-quarter rise. The cryptocurrency’s circulating market capitalization climbed 29% to $170.3 billion, positioning it as the fourth-largest crypto asset globally.

It notably outperformed the combined quarterly growth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, which stood at 13.3%.

On a yearly scale, the altcoin’s market capitalization surged by 392.6% from $34.6 billion in Q3 2024. This increase was partially driven by a 1.4% rise in circulating supply.

Despite the significant price growth, transaction fees on the XRP Ledger fell 24.5% quarter-over-quarter from $680,900 to $513,900, with native fees declining 43.6% to 174,200 XRP.

The network’s deflationary model, which burns transaction fees instead of redistributing them to stakers, continues to support long-term network sustainability. Since inception, about 14.2 million XRP worth $40.5 million have been burned.

However, 1 billion XRP, worth $2.85 billion, is released monthly from escrow to Ripple, ensuring steady liquidity while maintaining the network’s tokenomics structure.

Also Read: Ripple Unveils 5 Global Priorities to Make Stablecoins Truly Borderless

Institutional Confidence Drives XRP’s Upward Trend

Interest in the altcoin from big institutions really picked up in the third quarter, mostly because everyone’s waiting to see if the U.S. will approve those seven XRP ETFs.

The SEC changed its listing rules back in September, so we should hear about these ETFs between October 18th and November 14th. Polymarket says there’s a crazy high chance, like 99%, they’ll get the green light by 2025.

The altcoin got listed on Coinbase Derivatives Exchange on April 21 and CME on May 18. This fulfilled the SEC’s rule of having six months of futures data before an ETF can be listed.

Just like when Canada and Brazil launched XRP-related products, getting the thumbs-up for U.S. ETFs could really make the asset look like a real deal to big-time investors.

At the same time, some companies listed in the U.S. have either bought the asset or are planning to. Trident Digital Tech Holdings is in first place with a $500 million purchase, then Webus International ($300 million) and Wellgistics ($50 million).

Outside the U.S., Japan’s SBI Holdings owns over $10 billion in XRP, and the gaming company Gumi said they’re buying $17.5 million worth.

Ripple’s Legal Clarity Strengthens Market Outlook

Ripple and the SEC are finally done fighting in court. They both agreed to drop their appeals back in August. This pretty much confirms that the judge was right when she said Ripple’s regular sales weren’t against the rules. Ripple, however, paid a $125 million fine for institutional sales.

Now that things are clearer with the law and people expect XRP ETFs to get the green light, the asset is looking good for some growth. More people are using it; daily transactions are up almost 9% to 1.8 million, and almost 50% more new wallets were created, bringing the total to 447,200.

With more folks using the altcoin, the price doing well, and the legal matters out of the way, it is set to keep doing great until 2026.

Also Read: Ripple’s XRP Ledger Ignites Brazil’s Digital Finance Boom with VERT’s $40M Tokenized Fund