Daily transactions on the XRP Ledger jumped 35.3% quarter-over-quarter to 2.48 million in the first three months of 2026, even as XRP's price and market cap took a sharp hit. The network's tokenized real-world assets expanded 124.1% to $2.25 billion, and Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin grew 45% to $340.3 million, becoming the largest stablecoin on the ledger.
Network growth in full swing
The ledger's transaction activity hit a new high, driven by a surge in tokenized assets and stablecoin use. RLUSD, now the biggest stablecoin on XRPL, contributed to the rise in daily settlements. Tokenized real-world assets more than doubled to over $2.2 billion, signaling growing institutional appetite for putting traditional assets on-chain.
Price pain despite on-chain gains
XRP's price dropped 27.1% in Q1 to $1.34, and by early May it had slipped further to around $1.28. Market cap fell 26.3% to $82.21 billion. Average daily spot volume declined 32%, and perpetual futures volume fell 28.6%. The price has been trading inside a symmetrical triangle since early February, with the lower trendline near $1.26. A break below that could open the door to more downside.
ETF inflows buck the trend
US spot XRP ETFs held 775.4 million XRP at the end of Q1, representing 1.26% of circulating supply. In May, those funds added $131 million in net inflows, suggesting some investors see the dip as a buying opportunity. Institutional activity also included a live cross-border redemption of tokenized US Treasuries on XRPL by JPMorgan, Mastercard, Ripple, and Ondo Finance, settling in roughly 4.2 seconds.
June's historical drag and liquidation risk
Looking at seasonal patterns, June has historically been XRP's worst month. Since 2014, the median June return is -8.49%, with only three green Junes. On Binance, cumulative short liquidation leverage on XRP perpetuals stands at $227.10 million, about 90% of all leveraged liquidations. That heavy short positioning could fuel a sharp squeeze if the price moves higher, but it also reflects bearish sentiment.
XRP remains stuck in its triangle pattern with a key support level at $1.26. The next few weeks will test whether the network's growth can outweigh the price pressure.
