XRP News Today: Ripple Pursues Acquisitions and Tech Investments to Bridge Finance and Crypto

Ripple, the company behind the cryptocurrency XRP, has been actively pursuing acquisitions and technology investments to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto world. This strategy was highlighted by Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) David Schwartz, who revealed the company's ambitious plans for XRP and its broader ecosystem.

Schwartz disclosed that Ripple is evaluating multiple acquisitions, with its acquisition and merger team working diligently on several potential deals. He noted that the slow pace of traditional financial giants in strategic acquisitions presents a unique opportunity for crypto companies like Ripple. "We don’t have to compete with big banks to acquire strategically valuable companies like Hidden Road," Schwartz stated, referring to Ripple's recent acquisition of the prime broker for $1.25 billion.

Ripple's acquisition strategy is not limited to prime brokers. The company has also acquired crypto custody firms such as Metaco and Standard Custody. Schwartz mentioned that Ripple plans to use its new stablecoin, RLUSD, as collateral for Hidden Road’s brokerage services, further integrating traditional financial services with blockchain technology.

In addition to acquisitions, Ripple is focusing on enhancing the XRP Ledger (XRPL) infrastructure. Schwartz revealed that XRPL is being developed to gain an Ethereum-like "programmability," which will include payment management systems similar to smart contracts. While full programmability is not expected in the near term, the goal is to provide flexibility while preserving security. For instance, contracts could be set up to allow users to receive payments in their preferred digital asset instead of XRP.

Ripple is also developing a lending protocol on the XRP Ledger, planned for launch in the third quarter of 2025 if approved. This protocol aims to integrate traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) by handling the selection of borrowers and legal transactions off-chain, while tokenizing and distributing repayment rights on-chain.

Schwartz's revelations come at a time when Ripple has made several significant announcements, including tokenized treasury bonds, a decentralized exchange (DEX) for institutional investors, and a partnership with Wormhole to enable asset transfers between blockchains. These developments underscore Ripple's commitment to expanding the utility and reach of XRP within the financial ecosystem.