Ripple’s aggressive growth technique is as soon as once more below scrutiny from disgruntled XRP buyers. What was introduced as a milestone second for the corporate has as a substitute reignited debate over whether or not Ripple’s ecosystem progress is translating into measurable worth for XRP holders.
XRP Value Slumps Regardless of Ripple’s Hidden Highway Deal
In late 2025, Brad Garlinghouse introduced the completion of Hidden Highway’s acquisition, now rebranded as Ripple Prime. For a lot of XRP buyers, such bulletins carry expectations. If XRP is foundational to Ripple’s ecosystem, then main company wins ought to, in principle, replicate within the token’s market efficiency. As a substitute, the worth motion has informed a special story.
Over the previous two months alone, XRP has declined by greater than 25%, underperforming throughout a interval that included constructive company developments. Traditionally, comparable bulletins have triggered short-lived volatility however hardly ever sustained upward momentum. The sample has created a notion hole between company progress narratives and investor outcomes.
Amid XRP’s continued worth weak point, an analyst resurfaced Garlinghouse’s submit on the Hidden Highway deal, arguing that buyers are funding company growth that primarily advantages executives. He maintained that billions tied to the ecosystem have been used to amass conventional monetary companies, whereas token holders have seen little in return. For price-focused buyers, acquisitions imply little until they materially raise XRP’s worth.
This disconnect explains the mounting frustration, as holders are primarily involved with capital appreciation, liquidity progress, and long-term upside. When high-profile acquisitions are introduced, expectations rise. When worth charts fail to reply meaningfully, these expectations flip into skepticism. The recurring cycle of optimism adopted by muted market response has intensified scrutiny round whether or not Ripple’s growth technique immediately advantages XRP buyers.
Broader Acquisition Technique Could Form Lengthy-Time period Outcomes
Hidden Highway is just one part of Ripple’s current growth. Garlinghouse additionally pointed to GTreasury, Rail, Normal Custody, and Metaco as a part of a concentrated acquisition push over the previous two years.
The 2023 acquisition of Metaco strengthened institutional-grade custody infrastructure. Normal Custody, added in 2024, enhanced regulated asset safeguarding capabilities. Rail expanded fee rails, whereas GTreasury built-in enterprise treasury administration instruments into Ripple’s ecosystem. Every deal broadened Ripple’s operational footprint throughout custody, settlement, funds, and monetary companies.
Past acquisitions, Ripple has maintained partnerships with monetary establishments and fee suppliers throughout world corridors, steadily embedding its infrastructure into conventional finance frameworks. Collectively, these strikes symbolize vertical integration and long-term positioning slightly than short-term market catalysts.
Whereas XRP’s fast worth response has been restricted, these integrations could function foundational infrastructure for future demand dynamics. Institutional custody, treasury administration, prime brokerage, and fee rails might, over time, enhance the token’s utility inside Ripple’s ecosystem.
For now, worth efficiency stays the first concern for holders. Nonetheless, the buildup of regulated entities and enterprise-grade platforms could point out that Ripple is constructing structural depth earlier than potential market repricing. Whether or not that basis finally interprets into sustained XRP appreciation stays to be seen, however the firm’s acquisition technique suggests a long-term roadmap that extends past fast market reactions.
Featured picture created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
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