XRP Ledger Handles Larger Trades Despite Fewer Active Accounts

The XRP Ledger experienced an unusual shift during the second quarter, with trading activity becoming concentrated among a smaller number of accounts. Although fewer accounts were actively initiating trades compared with the same period last year, the amount of XRP traded by each active account increased substantially.

Trading Volume Climbs While Active Accounts Decline

Average daily order-book trading on the XRP Ledger reached approximately 3.57 million XRP during Q2. That represents a 79% increase year over year.

However, the number of accounts responsible for initiating these trades dropped to roughly 1,100 per day, compared with more than 1,860 a year earlier.

As a result, the average amount traded per active account rose to around 3,200 XRP per day, nearly three times the previous year's figure of approximately 1,070 XRP.

Trading Activity Becomes More Concentrated

The figures suggest that XRP trading is increasingly being handled by a smaller group of active accounts. However, account numbers cannot be directly equated with individual users because businesses may operate multiple accounts, while individuals can also maintain several accounts.

The report therefore does not establish whether institutional participants are replacing retail traders. It does, however, show that a narrower group of accounts is responsible for a larger portion of XRP trading.

The number of assets paired with XRP on the order book also declined. It fell to approximately 319 assets per day, compared with 480 previously, marking an 18% annual decrease and the lowest level recorded during the six-quarter period examined.

Order Books Take a Larger Share of DEX Activity

Order-book transactions represented 81% of decentralized-exchange activity on the XRP Ledger during the quarter, compared with 54% one year earlier.

Overall DEX trading averaged around 4.42 million XRP per day. While this was approximately 20% higher than the previous year, it was still 16% lower than the first quarter of 2026.

Network Value Surpasses $4 Billion

Despite weaker user-activity metrics, the value of assets held on the XRP Ledger expanded sharply.

Tokenized assets averaged approximately $3.72 billion during Q2. That figure was more than twice the previous quarter's level and over 30 times higher than a year earlier.

When average RLUSD balances of roughly $539 million are included, the total value held on the network reached about $4.26 billion.

Six quarters earlier, the corresponding figure stood at only around $99 million.

RLUSD Drives Much of the Growth

Ripple's dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, played a major role in the increase.

Its average supply on the XRP Ledger climbed from approximately $73 million to $539 million, representing growth of more than 600% in one year. The value transferred through RLUSD also increased by more than nine times.

As a result, the XRP Ledger's share of all RLUSD in circulation increased from 20% to 34%.

User Activity Continues to Weaken

Not every network metric moved higher. The average number of accounts conducting transactions on the XRP Ledger fell to approximately 16,600 per day, down 24% from the previous year.

New account creation also declined by about 25%, reaching roughly 2,800 new accounts per day.

This slowdown was part of a broader trend across the cryptocurrency industry. On-chain exchange volume across the wider crypto market dropped 46% year over year during the quarter, while transaction fees across seven major programmable blockchains declined by 38%.

XRPL Infrastructure Targets Institutional Use

The changes are occurring as developers continue building infrastructure intended to make the XRP Ledger more suitable for financial institutions.

During May, a portion of a tokenized U.S. Treasury fund was redeemed, with the asset settlement taking place on the XRP Ledger in less than five seconds.

The network also upgraded permissioned domains, which allow institutions to determine who can participate in particular markets. Its multi-purpose token functionality was upgraded during the same quarter.

Proposed changes have also focused on privacy for tokenized assets, potentially allowing transaction details and balances to remain confidential while providing controlled access to issuers, auditors and regulators.

Ethereum Compatibility and XRP ETFs Add Momentum

The XRP Ledger's Ethereum-compatible sidechain transitioned to actively maintained software during the quarter, while RLUSD continued expanding onto additional blockchain networks.

At the same time, U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded funds attracted approximately $273 million during the quarter. Each of the three months recorded net inflows, providing institutional investors with exposure to XRP without requiring them to directly hold the cryptocurrency.

Regulatory developments also remained important. The CLARITY Act, legislation addressing whether digital assets such as XRP should fall under the jurisdiction of the SEC or CFTC, passed the Senate Banking Committee on May 14.