XRP Ledger continues to show strong on-chain activity as Ripple management outlines possible crypto market trends. New network data indicates stable usage, low costs and high transaction volumes. At the same time, Ripple executives are setting expectations for how institutions might engage with crypto in the years to come.
In brief
- XRP Ledger averages 1.8 million daily transactions with ultra-low fees, solidifying its position as a scalable public blockchain.
- Ripple expects stablecoins, asset custody, and AI automation to drive institutional adoption of crypto through 2026 and beyond.
- RippleX encourages validators to update ahead of XRPL 3.0.0, which introduces fixes and compliance-focused features.
- XRP price remains under pressure despite network growth, as analysts observe a descending wedge breakout pattern.
Low fees and high throughput keep XRP Ledger among the best public blockchains
According to a recent Ripple and XRP report, the number of daily transactions on the XRP Ledger reached an average of 1.8 million in the second half of 2025. Payment transactions totaled 42.2 million. Furthermore, the cumulative payment volume amounted to 20.9 billion XRP, valued at approximately $43.73 billion.
Transaction fees have remained minimal, with a median cost of just 0.000012 XRP, or approximately $0.00002. Over the past two quarters, approximately 1.5 million XRP has been burned in fees, totaling almost $3.1 million.
Since its launch in 2012, the XRP Ledger has processed over 4 billion transactions. The network consistently supports over 1,000 transactions per second, while fees remain well under a penny. These metrics position the XRP Ledger as one of the most cost-effective and scalable public blockchains operating today, according to Tremplin.io.
Ripple sees stablecoins becoming central infrastructure for global finance
Looking ahead, Ripple President Monica Long shared her vision for the crypto market in 2026, with a focus on the rise of institutional adoption. She identified four key areas of growth, led by the growing role of stablecoins. Regulated digital assets, institutional custody solutions, and automation powered by artificial intelligence are also expected to gain importance.
Several market trends are expected to influence institutional participation:
- Stablecoins allowing the continuous and 24/7 movement of collateral.
- Greater use of on-chain assets within regulated financial frameworks.
- Increased demand for secure, institutional-quality child care.
- Automation improving settlement speed and operational efficiency.
- Commercial use cases accelerating the adoption of stablecoins.
Monica Long highlighted that while retail stablecoin payments are already established, business-to-business activity represents the greatest opportunity for growth. By 2027, she expects financial institutions to increasingly rely on regulated stablecoins to move collateral across capital markets in real time.
In the longer term, stablecoins could become deeply integrated into global payment systems. Additionally, the financial sector could see closer integration between blockchain infrastructures and artificial intelligence-powered processes.
RippleX urges XRPL node operators to update before activating version 3.0.0
At the same time, RippleX has issued an opinion to XRP Ledger node operators ahead of a major network update. Validators are encouraged to update their software before the activation of the XRPL version 3.0.0 amendments scheduled for January 27. Although all amendments have already been approved for deployment on the mainnet, failure to update could result in the amendments being blocked.
XRPL version 3.0.0 includes five corrective amendments covering escrow functionality, keylet fields, delivered amount calculations, AMM clawback rounding, and price oracle orders.
Additionally, permissioned domains — designed to support institutional compliance — have reached majority approval and are expected to be activated on mainnet on February 4.
XRP Price Lags Despite Network Growth, Downtrend Persists
Despite these signs of growth and network development, the performance of the XRP market remains moderate. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.92, up 0.66% over the last 24 hours. THE market sentiment remains bearish, with the Fear and Greed Index reading 25, a sign of extreme fear.
Over the past year, XRP has fallen by around 40%, underperforming 99% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies. The token continues to trade below its 200-day simple moving average and remains 51% below its all-time high.
From a technical perspective, analyst Ali Martinez mentioned that XRP could form a descending wedge pattern, a pattern that can precede a market breakout. Ali identified $1.78 as a key support level, with resistance at $1.97 and $2. He also mentioned a potential upside target near $2.23.
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