XRP Excluded as Grayscale Reveals New Top 20 List

XRP, long seen as a cornerstone in the crypto market, has been notably omitted from Grayscale’s freshly updated top 20 digital assets list for Q3 2025, sparking debate across the blockchain community.

In its latest research-driven portfolio refresh, Grayscale introduced Avalanche (AVAX) and Morpho into the ranking, replacing former entries Optimism and Lido DAO. This updated list prioritizes real-world blockchain activity and long-term growth over raw popularity or traditional market capitalization.

Grayscale attributed Avalanche’s inclusion to a noticeable uptick in its network use, notably through the rise of blockchain-integrated gaming and growing adoption of stablecoins within its ecosystem. This activity, while not yet assured to be sustainable, registers as a clear sign of momentum within Avalanche’s infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Morpho, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol specializing in lending, earned its spot with impressive year-over-year expansion. It doubled its total value locked to more than $4 billion and is approaching $100 million in annual fee generation. The release of its second iteration targets institutional involvement, aligning with Grayscale’s belief in the growing relevance of on-chain lending protocols. According to Grayscale, Morpho, along with Aave and Maple Finance, is well-positioned to benefit from ongoing shifts in decentralized finance trends.

Grayscale’s revised portfolio maintains a mix of heavyweight players like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, along with top-performing DeFi projects such as Uniswap and Aave, and emerging platforms like Bittensor, Ethena, and Aerodrome.

However, it’s the absence of XRP that raises eyebrows—especially given Ripple’s consistent enterprise growth and the XRP Ledger’s recent technical enhancements. Despite XRP being among the top digital assets by market cap, Grayscale’s exclusion indicates a pivot to assets exhibiting stronger fundamental momentum and tangible network expansion.

This year’s developments have been significant for XRP. With Ripple forging high-profile partnerships and expanding cross-chain capabilities through Wormhole, the asset continues to gain enterprise traction. Yet, unlike Avalanche or Morpho, XRP’s recent performance has lagged in comparison to the broader bullish market recovery. CryptoSlate data shows a more than 4% decline for XRP since the beginning of the year, keeping it around 45% below its all-time high.

Cardano (ADA), BNB, and TRON were also omitted from the list. Similar to XRP, these tokens have remained staples within the crypto landscape. Cardano, for instance, is actively working on increasing scalability and integrating Bitcoin into its DeFi framework through Layer-2 advancements. Despite these moves, both Cardano and XRP have underperformed compared to other assets, which might explain Grayscale’s decision to look elsewhere.

According to Grayscale, the methodology behind this quarterly update favors digital assets supported by emerging on-chain trends, institutional adoption risk, and long-term potential. In other words, the firm is betting on platforms that show real usage, evolving ecosystems, and mounting developer interest—metrics it deems more relevant than brand recognition alone.

Despite XRP’s omission, Ripple continues to focus on expanding its protocol’s reach and strengthening its presence in the institutional payment space. While not making the current Top 20 cut, XRP remains influential in areas of blockchain innovation and enterprise adoption—areas that may eventually earn it renewed recognition in future rankings.

Related: Expert Advice: Sell XRP If You’re Confused

As Grayscale continues to curate its selection around a data-centric strategy, the move underscores a broader industry trend—one that rewards technological traction and functional network utility over legacy market rank.