XRP News Today: Google's GCUL Emerges as XRP's Quiet Rival in Global Finance

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been positioning the XRP Ledger (XRPL) for a significant expansion, aiming to reach a $25 trillion market by 2030. Recent developments suggest a growing focus on enterprise adoption, regulatory clarity, and cross-border payment solutions. Strategic partnerships, including a collaboration with Chinese supply chain finance provider Linklogis, highlight Ripple’s continued push to integrate its blockchain into global financial systems. This partnership aims to deploy XRPL for large-scale commercialization, marking a step toward deeper integration into cross-border trade finance.

In parallel, Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, has gained traction among financial institutions, with support from BNY Mellon and the DeFi protocol Aave. The stablecoin is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and is designed to facilitate instant cross-border payments, enhancing the efficiency of the XRPL ecosystem. These institutional endorsements signal growing confidence in the token’s utility and stability, potentially bolstering its role in both traditional and decentralized finance.

XRP’s price performance has seen notable volatility, with recent dips and rebounds drawing attention from analysts and traders. While the token has experienced a correction, dipping below $2.80 at one point, subsequent buying pressure has pushed the price back toward $3. Analysts have drawn parallels between current price behavior and historical patterns, such as those observed in 2017. Some anticipate further gains, with targets as high as $5.20 and $7.30 being mentioned in market discussions. However, caution is also advised, with warnings that the peak of the bull cycle could arrive within the next one to two months.

The broader institutional landscape is also shifting. Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, has seen a dramatic reduction in its XRP holdings, with reserves dropping by 57% since the second quarter of 2025. This decrease has sparked speculation about reduced demand and potential strategic reallocation, although some analysts suggest it may reflect regulatory caution or a shift in focus away from retail trading. Despite this, other exchanges and market participants remain active, with Aave and other platforms exploring new use cases for XRP and RLUSD.

Meanwhile, Google has entered the arena with its own blockchain initiative, the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL). This project, developed by Alphabet, appears to mirror several key features of the XRP Ledger, including support for financial applications, 24/7 operation, and asset tokenization. GCUL is already in a pilot phase with the CME and is being tested for the tokenization of commodities and futures contracts. Unlike Ripple’s public blockchain, GCUL is a permissioned, private system, and it does not rely on an associated token like XRP. This distinction highlights the evolving competitive landscape in blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

As Ripple and other firms continue to innovate, the next few years will be critical in determining the trajectory of XRP and the XRPL. With regulatory developments, institutional adoption, and technological advancements all playing a role, the potential for XRP to reach $25 trillion in market value by 2030 remains a subject of both optimism and scrutiny. Investors and industry observers will be closely watching how these factors unfold, particularly in the context of broader macroeconomic conditions and global financial infrastructure trends.

Source: [1] Ripple (XRP) News Today August 28th (https://cryptopotato.com/ripple-xrp-news-today-august-28th/) [2] Coinbase Slashes XRP Stash: Is a Big Shift Brewing? (https://dailycoin.com/coinbase-slashes-xrp-stash-big-shift-brewing/) [3] XRP Price, XRP Price, Live Charts, and Marketcap (https://www.coinbase.com/en-ar/price/xrp) [4] Google's blockchain team is building an XRP killer (https://protos.com/googles-blockchain-team-is-building-an-xrp-killer/)