Ripple Secures EU Regulatory Green Light as XRP ETF Inflows Streak Abruptly Ends

Ripple secures full MiCA license in Luxembourg, expanding EU crypto services, as XRP ETFs see first outflow in eight weeks and price nears yearly lows.

Ripple’s push into mainstream finance and regulation advanced on multiple fronts last week, even as XRP’s price remained mired near yearly lows and a key ETF inflow streak snapped. The digital payments firm obtained a full CASP license from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the CSSF, under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. The authorization allows Ripple to offer regulated crypto services across all 30 EU and European Economic Area countries.

The milestone underscores a sharp regulatory divide in the industry: fewer than one in five legacy crypto service providers have successfully transitioned to the new MiCA license. Ripple now holds 75 regulatory approvals globally. One gap remains, however — its institutional-grade RLUSD stablecoin has not yet been approved as an e-money token in the EU.

On the same day the license was confirmed, XRP exchange-traded funds experienced their first net daily outflow in eight weeks. Data from the secondary article shows that on July 8, investors redeemed $7.29 million, the largest single-day withdrawal since March. The entire sum came from the Bitwise XRP ETF, which had seen two consecutive days of zero trading activity prior to the outflow. The interruption ended a streak that had seen XRP ETFs gather net inflows for eight consecutive weeks, including nearly $23 million in the last week of June alone.

Despite the hiccup, the broader institutional picture remains robust. Cumulative inflows across all approved XRP ETFs still stand at approximately $1.4 billion, with Bitwise’s share at roughly $500 million. The primary article notes that U.S. spot-based XRP ETFs have attracted “billions” in assets under management — a cushion that may help absorb further price weakness.

Price, however, continues to test nerves. XRP last traded at $1.09, down about 42% year to date and roughly 70% below its 52-week high set last July. The token is now flirting with its lowest levels of 2025.

Away from the market, the XRP Ledger is preparing for a critical software upgrade. Version 3.2.0 has already been installed by nearly 89% of validators, well above the 80% threshold required for activation. But the upgrade also requires formal approval of an associated governance amendment, known as “fixCleanup3_2_0,” through a separate on-chain vote among trusted validators. Ripple has already cast its ballot in favor. Any validator that refuses to adopt the new software risks being disconnected from the ledger. If the amendment secures the necessary majority, a two-week support window will open before the upgrade is finally locked in.

On the adoption side, Ripple has also made a splash in U.S. college sports by becoming the first crypto brand to sponsor the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team, placing its logo on jerseys and pledging educational grants. CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the deal a major step into the mainstream, made possible by the resolution last August of Ripple’s long-running legal fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The underlying technology continues to find traction in traditional finance. The SWIFT network is trialing a new blockchain-based cross-border payments system that relies on the XRP Ledger, though it does not directly use the XRP token. Seventeen global banks, including HSBC and BNP Paribas, are participating in the pilot. Meanwhile, banking platform Nuvion has integrated RLUSD to facilitate seamless conversion between fiat and digital currencies, and asset manager Franklin Templeton runs an active XRP trust listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Blockchain usage metrics also point to steady growth. The number of active addresses on the XRP Ledger has surpassed 8.4 million, with nearly half a million new addresses added in the first half of 2025, driven in part by tokenization and stablecoin activity.

Taken together, the picture is one of contrasts: regulatory wins, technical upgrades, and deepening institutional adoption coexist with a price stuck in a prolonged slump and a fragile ETF flow dynamic that can turn on a single day’s trading. Whether the recent outflow is a blip or the start of a broader rotation remains to be seen — but the cumulative inflows and network growth provide a firmer foundation than XRP has had in previous bearish spells.