Ripple (XRP) Kicks Off 2025 With Major Wins: New MTL Licenses in NY & TX, New Customers, and Expanded Hiring Across the U.S.

The licenses mark critical milestones in the company's ongoing effort to establish a robust compliance framework while addressing mounting concerns over XRP's decentralization.

Ripple kicked off 2025 with several major wins, including new MTL licenses in New York and Texas, new customers like Ondo Finance, and expanded hiring across the United States.

The newly acquired MTLs will enable Ripple to offer its cross-border payment services in two states known for their stringent regulatory standards. New York is home to the much-discussed BitLicense, while Texas has become a hub for crypto innovation. These licenses present strategic opportunities for Ripple's growth and contribute to its expanding footprint in the U.S.

"This marks a key step in our journey to deliver faster, cost-effective, and reliable global payments," said Joanie Xie, Ripple’s managing director for North America. "We continue to see growing interest from financial institutions and crypto businesses seeking the benefits of blockchain technology."

To date, Ripple's network has reportedly processed $70 billion in payment volume, underscoring its capacity to serve both traditional financial institutions and crypto enterprises.

Internationally, Ripple's operations also span regulatory frameworks in Singapore, Ireland, Dubai, and the Cayman Islands, among others.

Amid these achievements, questions about XRP Ledger's (XRPL) decentralization have resurfaced. Pierre Rochard, vice president of research at Riot Platforms, criticized Ripple for its influence over the network, citing its substantial XRP holdings and ability to propose ledger modifications.

According to Rochard, such influence undermines XRPL's claims of being decentralized, especially given the recent discussions about a U.S. strategic digital asset reserve proposed by President Donald Trump. While some, including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, argue for a diverse reserve that includes assets like XRP, Bitcoin maximalists like Rochard advocate for an exclusively Bitcoin-based reserve.

However, Ripple's Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz pushed back against these claims. "The XRPL operates on a consensus algorithm, not proof of work. Validators are independent and unpaid, reducing incentives for centralized behavior," Schwartz explained.

He emphasized that any changes to the XRPL require broad agreement among independent validators, ensuring that no single entity, including Ripple, can impose unilateral decisions. Schwartz further highlighted the protocol's resilience against manipulation, noting, "The governance mechanism is defined by the rules enforced by the nodes, not by Ripple."

Ondo Finance, a leading provider of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, is integrating its $185 million U.S. Treasury-backed token, OUSG, with the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

This move aims to expand institutional access to digital treasuries by leveraging XRPL's enterprise-grade blockchain. The OUSG token is backed by BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), enabling qualified investors to mint and redeem tokens nearly instantly using Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin.

The integration is expected to go live within six months, with both Ripple and Ondo Finance contributing seed liquidity to the effort, though specific figures were not disclosed.

The tokenization of U.S. Treasuries is a rapidly growing trend, with the market quadrupling over the past year to $3.5 billion, according to rwa.xyz. The shift to tokenized assets offers faster settlements, improved liquidity, and greater accessibility.

"The 24/7 intraday settlement enabled by tokenized assets like OUSG represents a transformative shift in capital flow management, removing barriers of traditional market hours," said Markus Infanger, senior vice president of RippleX.

XRPL's robust financial infrastructure—featuring compliance tools, decentralized identifiers, and innovations like Multi-Purpose Tokens—positions it as a key player in institutional DeFi. The integration of OUSG reinforces XRPL's role as a bridge between traditional finance and decentralized markets, bringing institutional-grade assets on-chain with greater efficiency and accessibility.

Following the announcement, Ondo Finance's governance token (ONDO) rose 4%, signaling strong market confidence in the partnership.

Despite Ripple's regulatory successes, XRP has faced significant market pressures. The token briefly dipped below $3 today, reaching as low as $2.68 before a partial recovery.

The slide can partially be attributed to greater market forces, including an interest in the recent hype on DeepSeek AI in China. According to Coinglass data, the liquidations of XRP futures reached $35.27 million over the last 24 hours, indicating that volatility was heavy. Analysts believe if XRP could not hold support at $2.33, further downs are expected from the coin.

XRP is up 10.76% over the last 24 hours, trading at $3.10 at press time. Technically, the XRP chart displays a balance in bearish and bullish momentum.

If the breakout above the critical resistance of $3.55 prevails, XRP is set for new highs, but if this level fails, not holding significant supports might aggravate the losses. XRP is trading