Pulse Reports

Doppler Finance: Bringing CeDeFi Back in Style

May 9, 2025 ⋅  9 min read

Key Insights

  • Doppler Finance introduces yield strategies for XRP holders, allowing them to earn passive returns without leaving the XRP Ledger. This marks a shift in XRP's utility, which has historically been limited to payments and remittances.
  • Early traction has been strong, with Doppler surpassing $15 million in TVL by April 2025. This is supported by Doppler Points, which reward early users for participation in the application.
  • Doppler represents a new generation of CeDeFi platforms that prioritize trust and accountability, learning from the failures of prior centralized models. Doppler Finance raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding.
  • Doppler uses onchain proof-of-reserves, reputable custodians like Fireblocks and Ceffu.
  • Doppler plans to evolve through liquidity staking, expanded yield strategies, and a multichain restaking protocol, positioning XRP as a broader Web3 infrastructure asset.

Primer

Doppler Finance is a CeDeFi platform built on the XRP Ledger that enables XRP holders to earn yield while retaining control over their assets and not having to leave the XRPL environment. Doppler’s platform provides a secure, structured environment where users can deposit XRP and access curated investment strategies that operate at the intersection of centralized infrastructure and decentralized transparency. All activity is designed to be observable and verifiable through onchain proof-of-reserves, transparent wallet flows, and external custody audits.

Doppler establishes a framework for trust-minimized yield generation by integrating elements of custodial accountability, real-time asset tracking, and user-controlled access points. This model allows participants to benefit from capital efficiency and passive yield while maintaining visibility into how their funds are managed.

The project raised a $2.5 million pre-seed round from notable investors like Born Ready Ventures, CRIT Ventures, Trive Digital, and Greenwhale.

The platform’s infrastructure is designed to evolve by expanding into additional yield strategies, such as real-world asset (RWA) integration or derivatives-based products. By converting a traditionally dormant asset class into a yield-bearing one, Doppler Finance aims to establish XRPfi (DeFi activities on XRPL) as a meaningful segment within the digital asset economy.

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Growth of CeDeFi

DeFi (decentralized finance) saw massive attraction during ‘DeFi Summer’ around 2020-2021, primarily on Ethereum, aiming to recreate traditional financial systems without intermediaries. However, DeFi's rapid growth revealed significant challenges: security vulnerabilities, regulatory uncertainty, and complex user experiences.

CeDeFi emerged as a hybrid solution, combining elements of CeFi (centralized finance) and DeFi. Decentralized product offerings included staking, yield farming, and lending within regulated custodial frameworks that provided enhanced security and compliance.

After several CeFi yield platforms failed in 2022, a new wave of projects is reviving interest in CeDeFi by addressing the trust issues that plagued their predecessors. Unlike the “black box” CeFi schemes of the past, which offered little visibility into how yields were generated, modern CeDeFi protocols like Doppler emphasize transparency (e.g., onchain reserves) and security through reputable custodians.

Doppler is a main player in the resurgence of CeDeFi and seeks to showcase its power through the creation of an XRPfi ecosystem. XRP has established itself as a top asset in the blockchain industry, being the fourth largest by market cap and with over six million active accounts. However, unlike Ethereum or Solana, XRP's utility has been largely limited to payments and remittances, with most XRP remaining idle and unable to earn yield. With recent technical developments like the AMM DEX pools, issuance of RLUSD, and hooks, the XRPL is well-positioned to expand its use cases.

The XRP community has shown strong interest in Doppler’s use case, with early batches of deposits filling within minutes. This demonstrates a pent-up demand for yield-generating opportunities within the XRP ecosystem.

The Doppler Effect

Doppler is one of the first projects turning XRPfi into a reality. By leveraging a combination of offchain institutional yield strategies and emerging onchain opportunities, Doppler introduces yield products for XRP holders who historically had no DeFi options on the XRPL. With an emphasis on transparency and trust, assets are held with top-tier custodians with onchain proof-of-reserves, and professional quant operators manage yield strategies.

The core idea is to bridge the gap between XRP’s traditionally limited onchain utility and the rich yield sources available in broader crypto markets. Users deposit XRP into Doppler’s platform and receive yield payouts sourced from various strategies.

How it Works

When a user deposits XRP into Doppler, the XRP is first held in a dedicated on-ledger address, then periodically moved to secure custody (via providers like Fireblocks or Ceffu) for deployment into yield strategies. Professional quantitative traders execute strategies such as arbitrage and hedged lending using the pooled XRP offchain, and the profits are converted back into XRP yields for depositors.

Throughout this process, Doppler maintains onchain transparency, posting custody wallet addresses for proof-of-reserve, and adheres to a self-managed model where users retain control over withdrawals, with a 7-day withdraw period, differentiating it from opaque CeFi yield programs of the past.

As of May 5, 2025, Doppler has a TVL of over $15 million with an estimated 3.0-4.5% APR. Overall, 87% of the TVL is with Ceffu while 13% is with Fireblocks. Doppler also has a lending product built on the Root Network.

Doppler’s Plan


Doppler Finance has outlined a four-stage roadmap for realizing its vision to create XRPfi. Each stage builds on the last, gradually introducing more features and expanding the user base while tackling the unique challenges of bringing yield farming to the XRPL.

Early Stage: Completed

The early stage focused on creating a secure foundation that XRP holders could trust, addressing one of the primary concerns in the DeFi space.

  • Built an integrated XRPfi infrastructure with an intuitive UI/UX while establishing partnerships with institutional-grade custody providers like Fireblocks & Ceffu.
  • Two example strategies were developed and deployed:
    • An XRP-neutral exchange arbitrage and a spot-perpetual futures basis trade: Doppler’s operators exploit price discrepancies of XRP across exchanges, always ending the cycle with more XRP rather than chasing USD profit (buying XRP where the price is low and selling where it is higher to net additional XRP).
    • A perpetual futures strategy: XRP is used as collateral to borrow stablecoins and simultaneously take long and short positions in spot and futures markets to earn the funding rate differential while remaining market-neutral.

Bootstrapping Stage: Current

This phase, which Doppler is currently executing, involves generating yield through arbitrage opportunities and other market-neutral strategies.

  • Creation of yield farming strategies with XRP by collaborating with CeDeFi platforms and leveraging offchain strategy.
  • Launch of the Doppler Points program.
  • Deeper exchange integration to enhance yield potential. Doppler integrated with Ceffu’s MirrorX solution – an institutional off-exchange settlement bridge to Binance. This pivotal integration allowed Doppler’s pooled XRP to be delegated to trade on Binance without leaving the custodian’s vault, effectively eliminating counterparty risk while accessing the exchange’s deep liquidity. The result is that Doppler’s quant operators can execute strategies at scale, but user assets remain under secure custody at all times.

GTM Stage: Future

  • Introduction of Liquidity Staking Tokens (LSTs) for XRP to maintain liquidity while generating yield, enabling participation in various DeFi protocols. This innovation will allow XRP holders to simultaneously use their staked assets across multiple platforms, maximizing capital efficiency.
  • Launch of an RLUSD vault, similar to what is live with XRP, and various RWA yield source integrations.
  • By the end of the GTM stage, Doppler aims to significantly grow its TVL and user count, making “XRPfi” a recognized branch of DeFi. The XRP community would see XRPfi not as an experiment but as a proven avenue to earn yield.

Final Stage: Future

  • Developing a multichain restaking protocol where XRP is deposited and provides cryptoeconomic security to services across multiple blockchain networks. This ambitious vision could position XRP as a security layer for various blockchain services, creating a sustainable yield source tied directly to ecosystem growth.

Doppler Points

Doppler Finance launched the Doppler Points (DP) Program to bootstrap its ecosystem and reward early adopters. This program has been a cornerstone of Doppler’s go-to-market strategy, encouraging users to deposit early and stay engaged in exchange for points that unlock access to reward programs and ecosystem initiatives.

Doppler Points are earned by users based on the amount of assets deposited and the duration of those deposits. The system is straightforward: for every $1 worth of tokens deposited, a user will earn 0.01 DP per hour. Points accumulate continuously as long as funds remain deposited, effectively rewarding not just the act of depositing but also loyalty (keeping funds in the protocol). The calculation uses the rounded-down fiat value of assets to standardize points across volatile crypto prices.

Doppler implemented a tiered DP Boost system to supercharge early participation. In the initial waves of the campaign, deposits up to specific caps received multipliers on points earned. For example, during the fourth batch (April 2025), all deposits up to the 10 million XRP cap enjoyed a 2x multiplier on point accumulation. This tiered approach means that the earliest and largest contributors can accumulate points much faster than latecomers, reflecting Doppler’s intent to reward those who believed in XRPfi from day one.

In addition to personal accumulation, Doppler introduced a referral program to encourage word-of-mouth growth as part of the points campaign. Under this referral program, if Jay invites Holly to Doppler, Jay gets a 10% bonus on all points he earns, and Holly receives an amount equal to 10% of Jay’s point earnings, credited to her. This creates a win-win incentive: new users get a head start, and referrers are rewarded in proportion to their invitees' activity.

Closing Summary

Doppler Finance represents a notable development within the XRPL ecosystem by introducing the XRPfi model, which enables XRP holders to generate yield and engage in DeFi-like activities without leaving the XRPL environment. Through a phased roadmap and a security-focused approach, Doppler has implemented CeDeFi strategies that aim to provide yield on XRP while maintaining asset custody transparency. Key features, such as real-time onchain proof-of-reserves and the use of established custodians, address concerns about capital deployment and risk, particularly in light of past failures in CeFi models. Doppler allows users to monitor fund flows and asset management verifiably.

The platform’s model, if sustained, could increase onchain activity by converting previously idle XRP into actively utilized capital, potentially supporting the growth of complementary XRPL infrastructure such as DEXs, AMMs, and sidechains. Doppler’s continued focus on transparency and operational integrity will be essential in determining whether this CeDeFi approach continues to gain broader acceptance among XRP holders.

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This report was commissioned by Doppler Finance. All content was produced independently by the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Messari, Inc. or the organization that requested the report. The commissioning organization may have input on the content of the report, but Messari maintains editorial control over the final report to retain data accuracy and objectivity. Author(s) may hold cryptocurrencies named in this report. This report is meant for informational purposes only. It is not meant to serve as investment advice. You should conduct your own research and consult an independent financial, tax, or legal advisor before making any investment decisions. Past performance of any asset is not indicative of future results. Please see our Terms of Service for more information.

No part of this report may be (a) copied, photocopied, duplicated in any form by any means or (b) redistributed without the prior written consent of Messari®.

Jeremy is a research analyst at Messari with interests in Infra, DeFi, and Enterprise adoption. Prior to joining Messari, Jeremy worked as an analyst at Fidelity Digital Assets.

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About the author

Jeremy is a research analyst at Messari with interests in Infra, DeFi, and Enterprise adoption. Prior to joining Messari, Jeremy worked as an analyst at Fidelity Digital Assets.

Mentioned in this report