Key takeaways
- XRP lost approximately 16% despite Ripple's October expansion
- Ripple secured final U.S. approval for its national trust bank
- Institutional partnerships do not necessarily create direct XRP demand
Ripple ended October with one of its strongest months for institutional expansion, securing final U.S. banking approval, announcing partnerships with major financial firms and projecting a $900 million annualized product revenue run rate. Yet XRP, the cryptocurrency associated with its ecosystem, finished the month down approximately 16%.
Historical market data shows XRP declining from roughly $1.49 at the end of September to $1.25 on October 31. The selloff extended the token's 2026 losses to approximately 32%, even as Ripple expanded into banking, custody, stablecoins and corporate treasury management.
According to Ripple's October 28 institutional update, the company now serves more than 1,700 institutional clients and expects its annualized product revenue pace to approach $900 million by year-end.
Ripple Wins U.S. Bank Approval and Expands Wall Street Partnerships
On October 26, Ripple received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Ripple National Trust Bank, following conditional authorization in December 2025.
The federally supervised trust bank will manage reserves supporting Ripple USD, act as collateral trustee and provide fiduciary digital asset custody services once operational.
Unlike a conventional commercial bank, the institution will not offer traditional deposit-taking or lending services. Its primary role is to strengthen Ripple's regulated financial infrastructure.
The approval followed a broader period of Wall Street expansion involving banks, investment firms and institutional trading platforms.
Ripple also expanded its partnership with BNY, which added XRP and RLUSD custody to its digital asset platform.
Separately, Robinhood announced plans to bring RLUSD to its retail app, potentially extending access to a platform reporting 28.6 million funded customers.
Ripple's collaboration with C2FO also targets invoice financing, using RLUSD to settle approved supplier payments through the XRP Ledger.
Why Ripple's Business Growth Hasn't Lifted XRP
The central distinction is that Ripple, XRP and the XRP Ledger are economically connected but are not interchangeable.
Ripple earns revenue from financial services, including payments, custody, treasury management and institutional trading. XRP holders do not own shares in Ripple or receive a direct entitlement to its revenue.
The company has reported rapid institutional revenue growth, while RLUSD reached approximately $2.6 billion in market capitalization by late October.
However, stablecoin adoption does not require institutions to purchase equivalent amounts of XRP.
Transactions conducted on the XRP Ledger consume small amounts of XRP in network fees, and certain operations require account reserves. But transaction volume alone does not establish substantial demand for XRP as an investment asset.
Meanwhile, Ripple's broader $16 trillion figure represents transactions enabled across its products during 2025, not payments exclusively settled using XRP.
The distinction helps explain why positive corporate announcements can coincide with declining cryptocurrency prices.
