Ripple Had a Massive October, but XRP Went the Other Way

October was one of Ripple's busies and most successful months in recent memory. But XRP failed to join the ride. October was once known in the cryptocurrency industry as ‘Uptober’ as it brought some spectacular gains for years. As such, expectations were high for another one in the 2026 edition, but that didn’t materialize for a vast portion of the crypto assets, including XRP. In contrast, the company behind the cross-border token spent most of the month expanding essentially every part of its institutional business, from prime brokerage and stablecoins to banking, custody, corporate treasury, and the XRP Ledger itself. From Wall Street to Swell October 1-10: Ripple Prime expanded its relationship with hedge fund Brevan Howard at the start of the month, providing multi-asset prime brokerage, clearing, and financing services. The company also deepened its South Korean presence through a partnership with Meritz Securities focused on custody and tokenization, while its prime brokerage arm moved into leveraged ETF swap financing. RLUSD was the center of attention for most of the month, beginning with its market cap flying past the $2.5 billion threshold. October 10-20: The XRP Ledger ...