Ripple, XRP eyes staking as Canary Capital ETF sparks new investor interest

Ripple’s XRP Ledger is reportedly undergoing a strategic shift amid calls from the community for native staking capabilities.

The development follows the recent launch of the Canary Capital ETF , which recorded significant trading volume on its first day, according to market data.

The two events indicate XRP is expanding beyond its traditional payments-focused operations toward broader investment applications, industry observers noted.

The XRP Ledger community has been discussing implementing native staking features, which would align the platform more closely with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols currently operating on other blockchain networks.

Ripple has not issued an official statement regarding the timeline or technical specifications for potential staking implementation on the XRP Ledger.

Singing Canary’s praises

The Canary Capital ETF is one of the first exchange-traded funds focused on XRP, providing traditional investors with regulated exposure to the digital asset.

It generated $58 million in first-day trading, slightly surpassing Bitwise’s BSOL ETF , which launched last month with $57 million. The activity places XRPC among the top-performing ETFs of 2025, far ahead of most of the roughly 900 funds launched this year.

The fund’s debut came amid a shaky crypto market, with Bitcoin dipping below $99,000 and total market capitalization falling about 3.5% to $3.43 trillion. Yet trading in XRPC was robust, with $26 million exchanged in the first 30 minutes and over $36 million by mid-morning, including rapid transactions on Robinhood.

XRPC is a physical spot ETF holding only XRP, tracking the token’s price via the CME CF XRP-USD Reference Rate. The fund carries a 0.50% annual fee and uses Gemini Trust and BitGo Trust for custody.

Canary Capital, a Tennessee-based digital asset firm with prior Bitcoin, Ethereum, and HBAR ETFs, positions XRPC as a convenient way for institutions to access XRP’s utility in cross-border payments without managing wallets or custody. Analysts note that demand for payment-linked tokens is rising, as reflected in Canary’s HBAR ETF raising $70 million in its first week.

At last check, XRP was trading at around $2.10, down 5.4% for the day.

Source: CoinGecko