XRP News Today: Grayscale Adds Avalanche, Morpho to Top 20 Crypto List, Drops Lido DAO, Optimism

Grayscale Investments, a leading digital asset manager, has updated its Top 20 crypto asset list for the third quarter of 2025. The update includes the addition of Avalanche (AVAX) and Morpho (MORPHO), while removing Lido DAO (LDO) and Optimism (OP). This change reflects Grayscale's ongoing strategy to adapt to the dynamic crypto market and focus on assets with strong growth potential and regulatory compliance.

The decision to add Avalanche and Morpho is driven by their recent surges in transaction volumes and DeFi growth. Avalanche's inclusion highlights its user and transaction growth, fueled by gaming initiatives and stablecoin flows. Morpho's rise is supported by its Total Value Locked and DeFi-native developments, indicating expanding institutional acceptance of DeFi lending.

The removal of Lido DAO and Optimism from the list is attributed to regulatory scrutiny and economic considerations. These shifts are expected to influence institutional portfolios, increasing exposure to Avalanche's Layer 1 capabilities and Morpho's lending innovations. Previous changes in Grayscale's asset allocations have impacted the liquidity and market perception of affected tokens and coins, suggesting potential similar outcomes for AVAX and MORPHO.

Institutional interest in DeFi could grow as Morpho integrates traditional financial technologies. Grayscale's strategy reflects current market conditions, with a growing shift towards fundamentally strong and regulatory-compliant assets in the crypto landscape. The exclusion of XRP and Cardano (ADA) from the list is notable, given their significant growth potential and recent industry developments. Despite both AVAX and OP being smart contract protocols, Grayscale found that this sector remained relatively stable, with little growth or decline.

The decision to exclude XRP and ADA is particularly intriguing given the increasing odds of ETFs for these assets. According to analysts' forecasts, XRP and Litecoin ETFs have a high chance of approval. This timing is significant as it coincides with the anticipated decision by the SEC on spot Avalanche and Cardano ETFs. Grayscale's approach to evaluating its preferred altcoins is multifaceted, involving the monitoring of sector performance and the identification of market trends.

The Q3 crypto list includes 20 tokens, with the newly added Morpho and Optimism. Morpho, in particular, has shown significant growth recently, and Grayscale is optimistic about its future in on-chain lending activity. The investment giant believes that Morpho could outperform other major crypto assets, given its recent announcement of Morpho V2, designed to bring DeFi to traditional financial institutions.

Other tokens in the list include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Hyperliquid, Sui, Chainlink, Uniswap, Aave, Bittensor, and more. This diverse range of assets reflects Grayscale's strategy of focusing on organic growth and the future of DeFi in traditional finance. The reshuffle of the Top 20 list underscores Grayscale's commitment to staying ahead of market trends and identifying emerging opportunities in the crypto space.