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Ripple says it has allocated more than $550 million to XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem initiatives since 2017 and will move to a broader, more distributed funding model in 2026. The company disclosed the shift on Feb. 26 and outlined multiple new channels to support XRPL builders.
Key funding changes and programs
– XAO DAO: A hybrid decentralized autonomous organization designed to let the community participate in grant decisions.
– XRPL Commons: Will continue operating ecosystem programs, including GLOW and The Aquarium incubator in Paris.
– UDAX expansion: The University Digital Asset Xcelerator (UDAX) will extend to institutions such as Fundação Getulio Vargas, the University of Oxford, and UC Berkeley.
– FinTech Builder Program: A planned initiative to support institutional-grade applications on XRPL.
– Venture participation: Firms including Dragonfly, Pantera, and Franklin Templeton will provide mentorship and capital access.
– XRPL funding hub: A centralized access point for grants and accelerator programs.
Market note: XRP fell about 2% over 24 hours and trades near $1.40, with short-term movement reflecting broader market trends.
Lending sector metrics
The decentralized lending sector’s total value locked (TVL) stands near $53.02 billion, per aggregated on-chain data. Protocols produced roughly $20.54 million in fees and $2.45 million in revenue over the past seven days, signaling continued on-chain activity.
Aave is the largest lending protocol with about $43.1 billion in TVL, roughly 55–56% of the sector’s liquidity, and has seen TVL rise more than 40% year-over-year. The second-largest protocol holds under $9 billion, underscoring liquidity concentration among top platforms. TVL and borrowing volumes have tracked broader market conditions, yet lending protocols keep generating recurring fees and remain core DeFi infrastructure.
Emerging protocol: Mutuum Finance testnet progress
Mutuum Finance (MUTM), an Ethereum-based lending protocol, is running its V1 framework on the Sepolia testnet. The project reports simulated testnet liquidity exceeding $150 million in TVL. The current testnet supports these core components:
– Liquidity pools: Users supply assets to shared pools that power borrowing and yield based on utilization.
– mtTokens: Minted 1:1 on deposit, these represent deposited assets and accrue interest.
– Stability factor: A risk metric assessing borrowing health against collateral requirements.
– Safe-mode borrow presets: Predefined risk levels for opening borrowing positions.
– Debt tokens: Track borrowed principal and accrued interest.
– Automated liquidator bot: Monitors positions and triggers liquidations when collateral thresholds are breached.
Testnet use: Users connect a wallet on Sepolia, mint supported testnet assets (e.g., ETH, USDT, WBTC, LINK), supply them to pools to receive mtTokens and yield, or post collateral to borrow against available liquidity.
Security and token details
Mutuum’s lending and borrowing contracts were audited by Halborn prior to testnet launch. The MUTM token is priced at $0.04, has over 19,000 holders, and fundraising is approaching $21 million. From a 4 billion token cap, more than 850 million MUTM have been sold. CertiK performed a token review (Token Scan score: 90/100). Token allocations include 5% (200 million) for giveaways and leaderboard rewards and another 5% (200 million) for partnerships to support integrations, ecosystem growth, and joint development.
Conclusion
Ripple’s updated funding framework signals continued capital deployment in XRPL while decentralized lending protocols report robust TVL and recurring revenue. New entrants like Mutuum Finance are advancing via testnets, audits, feature rollouts, and token distribution as development continues.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article; the views here do not represent ZyCrypto. Conduct independent research before acting on information in this piece. Trading cryptocurrencies carries substantial risk and can result in significant losses.
