 ▲ Ripple/Source: X © |
Ripple has announced a transition to a comprehensive and diversified developer funding model in an effort to quell ongoing concerns over centralization surrounding its blockchain ecosystem, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), and to revitalize its sluggish decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
According to DL News on February 28 (local time), Ripple, a $40 billion market cap crypto payments company, revealed through its official blog last Thursday a new funding program for developers within the XRP ecosystem and plans to shift toward a decentralized funding model. The core objective is to move away from an ecosystem heavily reliant on Ripple-led support and instead restructure it so that independent organizations, venture partners, and community-driven initiatives take the lead in providing funding.
This move is interpreted as a strategic effort to address long-standing market concerns over Ripple’s excessive influence and control over the XRP Ledger. Although Ripple and the XRP Ledger are structurally separate, many founding members joined Ripple’s executive team following the ledger’s launch in 2012, maintaining close ties. Moreover, as of March 2025, Ripple remains the largest holder and key developer of XRP, controlling approximately $57 billion worth of tokens—about two-thirds of the total circulating supply.
To diversify developer funding channels, Ripple announced the launch of the “Fintech Builder Program.” The initiative aims to foster startups building a wide range of financial applications on the XRP Ledger, including stablecoin payments, credit infrastructure, tokenization, and regulated financial services.
In addition, micro-grants distributed through the decentralized autonomous organization XAO DAO, launched last June, will continue, along with efforts by the nonprofit XRPL Commons and the Asia-Pacific support initiative XRP Asia. Ripple also plans to engage leading venture capital firms such as Dragonfly Capital, Pantera, and Franklin Templeton, along with university partnerships, to fundamentally prevent any single entity from monopolizing ecosystem support.
Although the XRP Ledger currently supports XRP tokens valued at $84 billion, total value locked in its DeFi protocols has plunged from a peak of $120 million last July to just $49 million, reflecting significant capital outflows. However, market expectations are rising as discussions around introducing XRP staking gain momentum, and a proposal to establish a lending market—allowing financial institutions to borrow funds from individual investors—was put to a vote on January 28, requiring approval from 80% of validators, signaling a potential major turning point for the blockchain’s future.
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