Ripple and SBI Ripple Asia are pushing XRP into a new phase of institutional DeFi by exploring regulated yield generation without native staking. Through a new memorandum of understanding with Doppler Finance, the partners aim to build institutional-grade XRP yield and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization infrastructure on the XRP Ledger.

Because XRP does not support on-chain staking, the initiative focuses on off-chain and CeDeFi-style yield structures, wrapped in regulated custody and compliance controls rather than traditional DeFi mechanics. SBI Digital Markets has been appointed as the institutional custodian, offering segregated custody and regulatory oversight—key requirements for large investors.

The strategy reframes XRP as a “productive asset” by routing it into yield-generating sources such as tokenized cash equivalents, treasury products, or future XRPL-native lending tools. Even a small portion of XRP’s circulating supply entering such yield wrappers could scale quickly into billion-dollar assets under management, creating meaningful fee-based revenue rather than speculative token exposure.

While XRPL’s DeFi ecosystem remains small compared to Ethereum, stablecoin growth and RWA tokenization are accelerating. The Ripple–SBI approach targets this gap by prioritizing compliance, reporting, and institutional access, aligning with global trends where tokenization is moving from pilots to real-world adoption.

Bottom line:

Ripple and SBI are positioning XRP for institutional DeFi growth by bypassing staking entirely and instead building regulated, custody-led yield rails. If executed, this model could unlock large-scale adoption and mark a major evolution in XRP’s role within global finance.