XRP Ledger payments near $500 million as on-chain use defies price drop

XRP Ledger payment volumes hit nearly $500 million on June 19, even as XRP fell 4.5% to $1.10, extending its monthly slide to 18%. The divergence between on-chain activity and price action highlighted growing network use despite weaker speculative demand.

The payment volume data was recorded on the XRP Ledger's public blockchain, with transactions approaching the $500 million threshold, according to on-chain metrics tracked by Santiment. The spike came as XRP's price struggled to hold above $1.30 earlier this week before sliding to near $1.10, CoinGecko data showed.

Active addresses on the network dropped to about 25,000 from 50,000 two weeks earlier, Santiment data showed. XRP whales distributed more than 30 million tokens over the past five days, reducing their combined holdings to about 3.78 billion XRP, according to crypto analyst Ali Martinez. Spot XRP exchange-traded funds continued attracting capital, with cumulative net inflows reaching a record $1.45 billion, SoSoValue data showed.

The divergence between payment volumes and price suggests the XRP Ledger's underlying utility is growing even as speculative interest wanes. Ripple is adding programmable privacy tools to the ledger using zero-knowledge proofs, designed for institutional settlement and tokenized assets. The XRP Ledger now hosts about $368 million in tokenized assets, up from $128 million a year ago, with Aviva Investors and Societe Generale moving operations onto the chain this year.

Payment Volumes Surge as Address Activity Slips

The $500 million payment volume threshold marked a significant level for the XRP Ledger, which processes transactions at a base fee of 0.00001 XRP per transaction. The network has burned about 14 million XRP since its inception in 2013, a negligible amount against the 62 billion XRP in circulation, according to Ripple's published data. Still, the payment volume spike showed that the ledger's settlement function remains active despite the broader market downturn.

The decline in active addresses from 50,000 to 25,000 over two weeks pointed to reduced retail participation. Some trading sessions recorded fewer than 25,000 active wallets, Santiment data showed. The drop in wallet activity coincided with whale distribution, as large holders reduced exposure.

Institutional Buildout Continues Despite Price Weakness

Ripple's planned privacy upgrade for the XRP Ledger uses confidential computing and zero-knowledge proofs, allowing financial institutions to verify transactions without exposing sensitive data on-chain. The upgrade is designed for private settlement, compliance checks, and tokenized assets, according to Ripple's published roadmap.

Oracle NetSuite's "Finance Futures" report discussed tokenized assets and decentralized settlement as part of the changing global finance sector. Deutsche Bank integrated Ripple's payments stack this year, while Aviva Investors and Societe Generale moved operations onto the XRP Ledger, according to Ripple's disclosures.

Spot XRP ETFs have pulled in over $1.4 billion in net inflows since their late 2025 launch, with cumulative net inflows reaching $1.45 billion as of June 18, SoSoValue data showed. The ETF inflows have remained positive even when comparable Bitcoin and Ethereum products recorded outflows, providing a demand-side buffer against the price decline.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.