After finishing a $100 million lawsuit, XRP doesn't want to be a cult coin anymore.

Yesterday, Trident made big news - a $500 million XRP treasury financing plan, with Chaince Securities as the advisor.

While retail investors are still debating whether "XRP is done for," institutions have already begun voting with real money.

Institutional entry: FUD terminator?

This old friend XRP has had a tough few years: a 5-year SEC lawsuit, the community calling it a "centralized antique," and at one point the price was flat.

But starting in 2024, the situation changed dramatically - the price stabilized around $2, and its market cap even surpassed USDT to reach third place.

Even more magical is that the Hong Kong company Webus is using it for cross-border payments, Nasdaq-listed VivoPower is using it as a reserve asset, and now even DAOs are starting to hoard XRP as treasury.

Ecosystem evolution: from remittance chain to financial Lego.

Ripple's recent moves can be described as a "mid-life transformation."

Building EVM sidechains compatible with Ethereum.

Issuing stablecoin RLUSD.

Creating DeFi on XRPL (TVL surged from millions to $40 million).

The most exciting part is projects like Doppler Finance, which directly added yield engines to XRP - arbitrage strategies, collateralized lending, one-click leverage... Although it doesn't compare to Solana's TVL surge, it excels in having a clear compliance framework, specifically addressing institutional "DeFi phobia."

The silent majority.

Now, there is a strange sense of division in the XRP community: on-chain data is warming up, but Twitter discussions feel like attending a memorial service.

Every time positive news comes out, there are always comments wailing, "Don’t send news, it’s going to drop." But looking at the on-chain data: funds from South Korea, the Philippines, and Europe are quietly building positions.

Lastly, a potentially offensive statement: while the market is still judging XRP with 2017 labels, it has quietly changed its script - no longer aiming to be a popular coin, but instead focusing on institutional infrastructure.