The post Why Flare’s XRPfi Is the Key to Making XRP Fly appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

What do you get when you combine XRP and DeFi? Why, XRPfi of course. Welcome to decentralized finance powered by XRP, the native asset of the Ripple ledger (also known as XRP Ledger) that’s since found a new lease on life with Flare’s blockchain for data. XRPfi has taken off in a big way this year, with Flare’s TVL growing by the tens-of-millions, weekly, since its launch in late-September 2025, as its XRP-focused DeFi ecosystem gathers momentum. The market has indicated that there is much positive sentiment surrounding XRPfi, and for good reason – it’s been a long time in the making.

From XRP to XRPfi

DeFi as we know it really got going in 2020 on Ethereum before expanding to other networks. Today, virtually all public blockchains have some kind of DeFi sector, enabling users to borrow and lend; stake and trade; and participate in other on-chain money markets without needing to custody the owner’s assets – thanks to the magic of smart contracts.

In parallel to DeFi taking Ethereum by storm, another leading OG chain – Ripple – was had no choice but to be limited to watching from the sidelines. Like Bitcoin, Ripple doesn’t natively support Turing-complete smart contracts, making it very difficult to build the sort of dapps that can be assembled with Solidity. 

Also around the same time as DeFi Summer, a new blockchain ecosystem emerged, by the name of Flare Network, with an ambitious goal of expanding XRP’s native functionality. The asset was already one of the most liquid and valuable cryptocurrencies by market cap after ETH and BTC, and the upside to making XRP smart-contract compatible offered plenty of financial incentive to many stakeholders. The technical challenges were indeed challenging, however, Flare’s core team persisted and has successfully built out its ecosystem, with XRP at its core.

In 2025, efforts began paying off. TVL on Flare has grown by almost 40% since the launch of FXRP (Flare-issued XRP), and is up five-fold YTD. What started out as a bold idea has turned into a working reality. Not only has the growth of XRPfi transformed Flare into a major DeFi hub, but there are signs that it’s stimulating demand for XRP, with its price predicted to move higher as users put the crypto asset to work in order to earn yield. Here’s how it works.

The DeFi Framework That XRP Deserves

As Flare explains in its introduction to XRPfi, “XRP holders should have access to a wider selection of DeFi-enabled financial tools. For instance, there’s only one AMM live on XRPL [the XRP Ledger], when a holder of XRP – the [fifth] biggest market cap cryptocurrency – should have a suite of options to choose from.”

Flare achieves this by enabling non-smart contract assets such as XRP, BTC, and DOGE to be bridged to its network, where they can be used in DeFi. The benefits of this recently unlocked capability are manifold. For one thing, it means that users can hold XRP – and capitalize on the upside to further growth – while also borrowing against it and earning yield across numerous protocols. 

For another thing, with the Tether-developed USD₮0 stablecoin now available on Flare, there’s access to a native stable that doesn’t have to be wrapped or bridged. This provides another important DeFi primitive and has helped to further deepen TVL on Flare. With both XRP and USD₮0 readily available on the network, there are ample opportunities for supplying liquidity and trading spot and perps markets. Once a simple payments token favored by various fintechs and money transmitters, XRP is now a multi-purpose DeFi asset.

The way in which Flare has achieved this without increasing security risk is through FAssets, its protocol that enables tokenized representations of assets such as XRP to be issued. This allows “plain” cryptocurrencies to be transformed into EVM-compatible tokens that can be used in an array of creative ways.

Making Staking an XRP Staple

One of the use cases that’s formed a cornerstone of Flare’s thriving DeFi ecosystem is XRP staking. Revealed in May 2025 with the support of Firelight, this allows users to stake their FXRP, into protocols such as Sceptre. In return, staker receive a staking token – stXRP – that can be used to earn additional yield, in the same manner as stETH on Ethereum.

But this is by no means the only way in which XRP has found a new lease of life on Flare: it’s also being used in native protocols where leveraged perpetual futures can be traded fully on-chain, and is deeply embedded into decentralized exchanges such as SparkDEX, which has created its own fully-fledged DeFi ecosystem that includes yield farming, staking, and a token launchpad. In short, if you’re an XRP holder and are still keeping your assets in cold storage, you’re likely leaving considerable yield on the table.

Where Next for XRPfi?

While September saw large quantities of the asset being bridged to the network, one of the reasons behind this surge has been improved onramps that make it easier for users to move XRP over to Flare’s network. This includes recent integrations such as the rising Xaman wallet which now enables FXRP to be directly minted. As a result, XRP holders can begin putting their assets to work on Flare in a matter of minutes.

Other catalysts include a 2.2 billion FLR incentive program that offers additional rewards for liquidity providers, juicing the total APY that is attainable. Flare is now busy onboarding more partners that are looking to enhance access to its DeFi services including MoreMarkets, which has just launched its XRP Flare Account, further simplifying access to yield.

XRP may have started out as a simple cryptocurrency designed for payments and speculative trading, but it’s since evolved into much more and it’s thanks in no small part to Flare. Its DeFi network marks the most successful example to date of a non-native asset being revitalized on a secondary chain. Whereas other attempts at recreating DeFi for non-smart contact assets, such as BTC with “BTCfi,” have struggled to gain traction, XRPfi has found product-market fit. If Flare’s TVL can keep on rising, there’s every prospect of XRP following suit as users flock to acquire DeFi’s unlikely utility token.

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Table of Contents

1. Exchange money at the bank!
2. Currency exchange shops are convenient
3. Automatic foreign exchange machines — no Japanese required
4. International ATMs are lifesavers when you’re short on cash
5. The simplest option when you have no cash: use a card
6. iPhone only! Use QUICPay contactless payments
7. Mobile QR payments can also be used across borders in Japan
8. Money stored on transit IC cards can be used for rides and shopping

If you miscalculate your travel budget or get carried away with shopping and find yourself short on Japanese cash during your trip, what should you do?

MATCHA's editors have compiled the following eight ways to handle the situation when you're short on cash. Hopefully, they’ll come in handy like a little emergency toolkit!

1. Exchange money at the bank

Just like when we exchange yen before traveling abroad, if you really find yourself short of yen, it’s recommended to go to a bank in Japan that offers currency exchange services, fill out an exchange application form, and take a number to wait to be called for the exchange.

Japanese bank hours are usually from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and they are closed on holidays, so those who need to exchange yen should pay attention to the time!

2. Currency exchange shops are convenient

If you find the banks are closed for holidays or you urgently need to exchange yen after 3:00 p.m., roadside currency exchange shops are your best friends!

Just go to a shop that has “Money Exchange” written, tell the counter staff that you want to exchange foreign currency, and they will assist you. Sometimes their rates can even be better than banks.

In addition to exchanging foreign currencies, these shops also sell discounted transportation tickets, theme park and attraction tickets, and meal vouchers—useful money-saving tips for travelers! It’s also recommended to use established chain stores such as Daikokuya (大黒屋) for more reliability.

3. Automatic foreign exchange machines — no Japanese required

If you don’t speak Japanese and tend to be shy, automatic currency exchange machines are your lifesavers!

After Japan reopened its borders and began welcoming travelers from around the world, many major cities now have multilingual automatic currency exchange machines.

Besides occasionally appearing in busy shopping streets, they are usually installed in convenience stores or large department stores (for example, Takashimaya).

If your yen is about to run out, just put your home-country bills into the machine to exchange them.

4. International ATMs are also lifesavers when you’re short on cash

What if you want to exchange cash but don’t even have any of your home currency on hand?

It’s recommended that you use an international ATM with a debit or credit card that has international withdrawal enabled to withdraw local cash directly from your home account.

The ATMs at Japan Post offices or Japan Post Banks (Yucho Ginko) are usually international and allow cash withdrawals from Mastercard or VISA cards.

However, an important point is that this service is limited to cards that have international withdrawal enabled. If you didn’t have this feature activated with your bank before traveling, you won’t be able to withdraw money.

So add this to your pre-trip checklist — enable international withdrawals for peace of mind, and also check your bank’s fee structure in advance.

5. The simplest option when you have no cash: use a card

Yes — the simplest option is to pay by card! Card acceptance is increasingly widespread in Japan. If you find your yen running low, try to use your card when shopping in shopping streets, convenience stores, and department stores whenever possible.

With card rewards, paying by card can even be more economical than exchanging cash. Reserve your remaining cash for things that only accept cash, such as meals, transportation, and admission fees.

Credit cards with high rewards in Japan

Picture courtesy of E.SUN Bank

E.SUN Bank’s “Kumamon Card Dual-Currency JPY Card” offers up to 8.5% cashback at designated stores in Japan. For a list of designated stores, please refer to the official website: https://www.esunbank.com/en/personal/credit-card/intro/bank-card/kumamon_card.

Other purchases made in Japan earn 2% cashback.

6. iPhone only! Use QUICPay contactless payments

QUICPay, a contactless payment service developed by JCB, is supported by over a million card terminals in Japan. iPhone users can add certain JCB credit cards to Apple Pay and use QUICPay at participating stores and vending machines that display the QUICPay logo!

Pay by card, then go to the department store for tax refund and cash

If you urgently need cash, you can pay by card and then use the department store’s cash tax-refund service afterward — the more you buy, the more cash you can get back.

However, note that some department stores charge a handling fee for cash refunds, so you’ll need to weigh whether it’s worth it or choose stores that don’t charge a fee!

7. Mobile QR-code payments — also usable cross-border in Japan

Super-convenient mobile QR-code payments are now available in Japan! Japan’s largest QR payment service, PayPay, can be used at 4.1 million partner stores in Japan.

However, note that many department stores and shopping malls limit tax-refund payment methods to cash or card, so it’s better to use QR payments at convenience stores, restaurants, or small shops that don’t offer tax refunds.

8. Money loaded onto transit IC cards can be used for travel and shopping

Frequent travelers to Japan often buy a contactless transit IC card (such as Suica or PASMO). But did you know that the balance loaded onto the card can also be used directly for shopping?

Using transit IC cards for payments is very common in Japan — in addition to department stores, restaurants, and convenience stores, many vending machines and even crane (UFO catcher) game machines accept them! No need to search for or exchange small change — very convenient.

Quick Tip from MATCHA

Today, we introduced various solutions for when you don’t have enough Japanese cash. On your next trip to Japan, you can mix and match these cash alternatives to travel with more peace of mind — and maybe even save money!

We also recommend estimating basic cash needs for transportation and meals before you go, keeping that money in a separate wallet, or loading it onto a transit IC card in advance. For larger purchases (such as accommodation or electronics), it’s still best to pay by card to avoid the embarrassment of suddenly running out of cash while traveling.