What Was XRP Ledger Apex 2024?
The XRP Ledger Apex was the official global community summit of the XRP Ledger ecosystem, hosted by Ripple at the Postillion Hotel and Convention Centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 11 to 13 June 2024. The largest edition in the event's history, it drew 700+ attendees, 80+ speakers, and 60 sessions — making it the definitive annual gathering for developers, businesses, investors, and builders on the XRP Ledger blockchain. Details sat on the official XRP Ledger Apex website. Amsterdam — one of Europe's leading fintech and blockchain cities — provided the ideal setting for a summit focused on the future of institutional finance on blockchain.
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Key Themes and Event Highlights
Three themes dominated the 2024 summit: institutional DeFi, cross-chain interoperability, and real-world asset tokenization — the three areas where XRPL was making its most significant advances.
Event Highlights
- David Schwartz keynote: Ripple's CTO and XRP Ledger co-creator delivered the opening keynote, presenting the growing ecosystem of 75+ active XRPL projects spanning wallets, analytics, gaming/metaverse, RWA marketplaces, interoperability tools, and payments/stablecoins. Schwartz focused on XRPL's roadmap for institutional DeFi, covering the live Automated Market Maker (AMM), planned Oracles, and a new Lending Protocol proposal.
- Wietse Wind (Founder, XRPL Labs) spoke on the Xaman wallet (formerly Xumm) and XRPL Labs' developer ecosystem contributions.
- Markus Infanger (SVP, RippleX) outlined Ripple's open-source contributions to XRPL and strategy for institutional blockchain adoption.
- RLUSD announcement: Ripple unveiled Ripple USD (RLUSD), its upcoming stablecoin to be issued on both Ethereum and the XRP Ledger — designed to bring credible, regulated assets onto the XRPL DEX and enhance XRP's role as an auto-bridging asset.
- XRPL EVM Sidechain announcement: A major technical milestone, the XRPL EVM Sidechain — developed in collaboration with Peersyst — was announced for Q4 2024 launch, enabling developers from the Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems to build directly on the XRP Ledger infrastructure.
- Ripple × Archax partnership: Ripple announced an extension of its collaboration with Archax (the UK's first FCA-regulated digital asset exchange) expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars of tokenized real-world assets onto XRPL over the following year.
- Interoperability panels: Axelar, a leading cross-chain bridge provider, joined panels on the infrastructure needed to connect different blockchains — a session that framed XRPL's multi-chain future clearly.
How Crypto and Web3 Are Growing in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is one of Europe's most active crypto markets. In 2025, approximately 2.5 million Dutch adults — around 14% of the adult population — held cryptocurrency. Amsterdam is home to 350+ blockchain companies and is a top EU crypto innovation hub. Dutch banks ABN AMRO and ING have piloted blockchain and tokenization projects. Bitvavo and Bitonic operate as leading Dutch exchanges. Under MiCA, the Dutch AFM and DNB serve as dual regulators — the AFM issuing MiCA CASP licenses (including early licenses to MoonPay and Hidden Road) while DNB handles prudential oversight. The Netherlands chose a shorter 6-month transitional period (ending June 30, 2025) rather than MiCA's maximum 18 months — demonstrating regulatory urgency. Tether invested in Dutch fintech Quantoz to support MiCA-compliant stablecoin issuance. For more shows, see CoinGabbar's blockchain events hub.
Impact of the Summit on the XRPL Ecosystem
The 2024 summit set the agenda for XRPL's institutional DeFi ambitions. The RLUSD stablecoin announcement, XRPL EVM Sidechain, and Archax RWA partnership collectively represented a clear message: XRP Ledger was expanding far beyond payments into the institutional DeFi, RWA tokenization, and multi-chain interoperability markets. The 2025 edition was announced for Asia — reflecting XRPL's strategic push into Southeast Asia's fast-growing blockchain market.
Why Sponsors, Exhibitors and Projects Should Join
- DeFi and RWA projects: reach XRPL's institutional-grade builder and investor community directly.
- Fintech and payment companies: Ripple's cross-border payment network makes XRPL Apex the premier forum for payment innovation discussion.
- Ethereum and Cosmos developers: with the EVM Sidechain launch, the 2024 summit opened the door to Ethereum-native builders entering the XRPL ecosystem.
- Custodians and asset managers: the Archax RWA partnership signals that XRPL is becoming a serious institutional tokenization chain — an early-mover position is valuable.
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Why KOLs, Media and Influencers Attend
Ripple's annual event generates significant XRP community coverage globally — with the "XRP Army" among the most engaged communities in crypto. Red Sheehan of Messari attended to cover the ecosystem analysis angle. Coverage can spread through the crypto press release network.
Why Builders and Participants Join
Developers come to XRPL Apex to learn directly from Ripple engineers and ecosystem project teams, access partnership opportunities, and discover the latest XRPL development tools. For non-technical participants, the event provides a clear view of where XRPL's institutional adoption is heading.
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How the Event Concluded and What Came Next
The summit closed after three packed days of institutional DeFi discussions, major ecosystem announcements, and technical workshops. The RLUSD stablecoin launched later in 2024, and the XRPL EVM Sidechain went live in Q4 as announced. Ripple confirmed XRPL Apex 2025 would move to Asia — specifically to reach the growing developer and institutional communities across Southeast Asia. Track upcoming shows on the crypto events calendar and our blockchain events page.
Glossary of Key Terms
- XRP Ledger (XRPL): a decentralized blockchain designed for fast, low-cost payments and financial applications, co-created by David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb, and Arthur Britto in 2012.
- RLUSD: Ripple USD — Ripple's regulated stablecoin, announced at Apex 2024, designed to be issued on both Ethereum and the XRP Ledger for institutional DeFi use.
- AMM (Automated Market Maker): a DeFi protocol that provides liquidity through mathematical formulas rather than order books — natively integrated into the XRP Ledger in 2024.
- RippleX: Ripple's business unit focused on open-source contributions to the XRP Ledger and developer ecosystem development.
- Archax: the UK's first FCA-regulated digital asset exchange, broker, and custodian — announced as Ripple's partner for bringing RWAs onto XRPL.
Disclaimer
This page is for general information only. It is not financial, legal, or investment advice. The event described was held in June 2024; future dates may differ. Verify with the official source and do your own research. Crypto assets are volatile.
