The Ripple ecosystem may witness stronger participation from institutions in the coming years, as exchange-traded funds open new avenues for capital inflows, according to RippleX leadership.
On March 10, 2026, in his latest podcast appearance, Markus Infanger, Senior Vice President at RippleX, discussed the evolution of XRP and the XRP Ledger over time. Infanger stated that the company is now more focused on institutional participation and the expansion of decentralized finance tools.
RippleX Expands Institutional DeFi on XRPL
Infanger also added that RippleX aims to increase institutional decentralized finance on the XRP Ledger. He also added that the network is gaining momentum as more assets are added to its ecosystem.
He indicated that the real-world asset market on XRPL has now achieved a $2 billion value, thus ranking it among the top ecosystems in support of tokenized financial assets.
To enable the expansion of these assets, RippleX is working on a new financial infrastructure that will enable the usage of these assets across decentralized applications. The plans include the development of new tools that will enable lending, stable payment, and collateralization on the network.
Other recent updates on XRPL include the addition of the lending protocol and new features such as atomic swaps, privacy, and programmable escrow. These upgrades focus on the expansion of the types of financial activities that can be built on the XRPL.
RippleX Sees XRP ETF Impact
The possible impact of XRP-based exchange-traded funds was also mentioned by Infanger. According to him, exchange-traded funds could lead to the creation of a link between traditional financial markets and digital assets.
“ETFs can be thought of as a ‘free trade agreement’ between the two sectors because they will make it easier for institutional investors to access cryptocurrencies.”
According to Infanger, increased accessibility of XRP by ETFs may benefit developers and companies working on the XRP Ledger, as it may lead to new projects and services on the network due to increased access to capital.
He also pointed out that greater institutional interest could position XRP as a complementary asset in global finance, in addition to other assets such as government bonds.
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RippleX Highlights XRP’s Expanding Financial Role
In reviewing XRP’s history, Infanger said: “XRP has managed to remain in the top tier of cryptocurrencies for a long time now and is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies launched after Bitcoin.”
XRP is built for fast and cheap transactions. Transactions on the XRP ledger are settled in seconds and are very cheap, enabling the payment solutions offered by Ripple.
Infanger suggested that XRP’s characteristics might be beneficial if there are increasing links between traditional finance and DeFi, with XRP as a settlement, liquidity, and collateral provider for various financial services.
He also noted that awareness about XRP has grown significantly. He said that in the early days of his Ripple experience, many people were unaware of the asset and technology. Today, digital assets are being recognized by governments, banks, and financial institutions around the globe.
Infanger argues that the crypto market is evolving, and assets like XRP are likely to function in conjunction with traditional systems rather than in isolation.
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