XRP Ledger's decentralized exchange (DEX) has hit an impressive milestone. It has surpassed $1 billion in swap volume since its launch in 2024, according to Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse.
In January alone, the DEX recorded a swap volume of $400 million. That breaks down to an average of about $17 million per day. Garlinghouse shared this information on January 28.
This rapid growth is one of the key reasons why 2024 is shaping up to be a significant year for Ripple. Garlinghouse also mentioned the early but promising progress of Ripple's US dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD. Plus, there are several filings for proposed XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
JPMorgan estimates that these XRP ETFs, including those from asset managers like Bitwise and WisdomTree, could draw in over $8 billion in inflows into the XRP token.
Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP Ledger, launched this enterprise-focused blockchain network back in 2012. Unlike Ethereum, XRP Ledger hasn’t traditionally allowed third-party smart contracts. Instead, products like the DEX and automated market maker (AMM) come from Ripple’s core developer community.
Garlinghouse also credited much of XRP's positive momentum to the expected victory of US President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. He said, “Trump winning the election… whatever you think about his personal politics, for crypto, it is certainly profound.”
Since November 5, when Trump won the presidential race, the price of XRP has soared over 500%. As of January 28, XRP’s market cap stands at more than $180 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Trump has promised to make the US the “world’s crypto capital.” He plans to appoint industry-friendly leaders to key financial regulatory roles, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
This year, the SEC authorized issuers to list spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs in January and July, respectively. However, other ETF applications, including those for spot XRP ETFs, have not advanced.
With Trump in office, investors feel optimistic about the chances of XRP ETF approval in 2025. Prediction market Polymarket currently sets the odds at around 73%.