XRP News Today: PHNIX Soars 40% as Ripple’s CTO Joins the Meme Coin Playbook

David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, recently changed his X (formerly Twitter) profile picture to a PHNIX NFT, sparking an immediate surge in the token's price. PHNIX, built on the XRP Ledger, rose nearly 40% to $0.00002264 within hours of the profile change. The move echoes similar phenomena in the crypto space, where high-profile endorsements can drive significant short-term price volatility. PHNIX’s surge mirrors past instances tied to Elon Musk, such as when Dogecoin spiked 20% in 2021 after a profile change referencing the meme coin. Earlier this year, Musk’s username shift triggered a 3,000% rally in a related token, and a 120% increase in KEKIUS after it was incorporated into his branding. Unlike Musk, however, Schwartz is not typically associated with meme coin promotions, making the PHNIX endorsement particularly unexpected.

The Phoenix NFT, represented by the PHNIX token, has drawn attention for its role in the XRP Ledger ecosystem. The official Phoenix account highlighted the profile change on X, stating, “The Phoenix rises higher today. Thank you, Joel Katz, for embracing the vision. From ashes to eternity, $PHNIX lives on XRPL.” This message underscored the growing influence of meme-driven narratives in crypto markets, where cultural signals often override traditional fundamentals. PHNIX’s price movement also reflected increased liquidity and trading volumes on platforms like CoinGecko, indicating a strong retail investor response.

The XRP Ledger continues to expand its use cases beyond cross-border payments, integrating into decentralized finance (DeFi), real-world asset tokenization, and NFTs. XRP remains the third-largest Layer 1 blockchain by market capitalization and has a strong track record in facilitating fast, low-cost transactions. XRPL’s native NFT standard, XLS-20, provides a streamlined approach to NFT creation and management, with low fees and quick settlement times. These features make the XRP Ledger attractive for developers and creators, particularly in the NFT space where accessibility and efficiency are key concerns. The Phoenix NFT project is one of many initiatives leveraging these capabilities, highlighting the XRP ecosystem’s growing versatility.

The recent PHNIX rally has also drawn attention to the role of community and personality-driven actions in crypto markets. Justin Sun, founder of Tron and advisor at Huobi Global, noted at Token2049 that meme coins “highlight the power of community in crypto,” even if they appear unconventional. PHNIX’s price spike underscores how influential figures, even those not traditionally associated with meme coin culture, can generate speculative momentum. However, historical trends suggest that such rallies often fade quickly, with late entrants facing risks if there are no substantial follow-up developments. Analysts have pointed to the need for PHNIX to deliver on tangible updates or broader adoption to sustain its momentum beyond the initial hype.

In the broader XRP ecosystem, stablecoin RLUSD has emerged as a key liquidity asset, with a market cap approaching $1 billion. This stablecoin is expected to play a critical role in supporting transactions and DeFi activity on the XRP Ledger. Meanwhile, XRP itself is seeing renewed institutional interest, with over 15 ETFs awaiting SEC approval as of October. XRP futures also achieved a milestone by becoming the fastest crypto contract to reach $1 billion in open interest on CME Group, in under four months. These developments indicate a growing confidence in XRP’s role as a foundational asset in the blockchain space, with potential to disrupt traditional financial systems as digital assets gain traction.

Source: [1] Ripple-CTO-Joins-Meme-Coin-Effect-Fuels-40-Price-Rally-for-PHNIX (https://coinstats.app/news/328aba135c51386aa7468ba661d634570b6c55d6c99291f8772d8c0007b28ea2_Ripple-CTO-Joins-Meme-Coin-Effect-Fuels-40-Price-Rally-for-PHNIX) [2] Ripple CTO Sparks 40% PHNIX Token Surge With NFT Profile Picture (https://www.tokenpost.com/news/insights/16571) [3] How XRP is Expanding Beyond Ripple to Power Payments, DeFi, and NFTs (https://coinpedia.org/news/how-xrp-is-expanding-beyond-ripple-to-power-payments-defi-and-nfts/) [4] XRP NFTs Explained: A Beginners Guide (https://invezz.com/cryptocurrency/xrp/nfts/)