XRP (XRP), the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), has been touted by proponents as a high-speed, low-cost solution for cross-border payments. But just how much value flows through the network on a daily basis? Letās examine.
XRP volumes have risen since Trumpās reelection
Based on recent data from Glassnode, XRPās daily transfer volume settled on its blockchain in US dollars frequently ranges between $300 million and $1 billion.
However, since November 2024, when Donald Trump won the US presidential election, XRP has settled an average of $2.28 billion per day, signifying heightened network activity likely fueled by XRPās price boom in the same period.
XRP total transfer volume. Source: Glassnode
That said, these spikes donāt necessarily reflect steady adoption or payment activity; instead, they could further be tied to speculative behavior, Ripple-related transfers, whale moves, and reshuffling between exchanges.
Ripple is behind many big XRP transfers
One important factor behind the spikes in XRPās daily transfer volume is large token sales by Ripple and its co-founder, Chris Larsen.
Chris Larsenās XRP sales (2024ā2025):
On Sept. 18, he transferred 50 million XRP (~$29 million) from a wallet inactive for 11+ years.
šØ šØ 50,000,000 #XRP (29,120,312 USD) transferred from Chris Larsen to unknown wallethttps://t.co/D9iopMqePM
ā Whale Alert (@whale_alert) September 16, 2024
By early 2025, Larsen had sold over $116 million worth of XRP.
These sales reduced XRP reserves on one of his wallets from 500 million to 410 million XRP.
Previously, the SEC estimated Larsen sold ~$453.69 million worth of XRP between 2017 and 2020.
The 2024ā2025 sales stand out for their scale and timing during XRPās rally past $3.
Rippleās XRP escrow sales (2017ā2025):
Ripple started selling XRP from escrow in 2017, releasing up to 1 billion XRP/month, often returning unsold tokens.
It sold $91.6 million during the cryptocurrencyās 30,000% rally in Q4 2017
In Q3 2018, Ripple sold $163 million during volatile markets.
In Q2 2019, the firm sold $251 million in XRP, one of its largest sales.
Sales dropped to $1.75M in Q1 2020, likely due to regulatory pressure from the SEC.
Across 2021, around $1.5B were sold, per Rippleās reports.
This suggests that Ripple tends to ramp up sales during bullish periods and scale back during XRP price downtrends.
Related: Ripple āshould act in its own interestā when selling XRP ā Ripple CTO
In 2017, Ripple locked 55 billion XRPāthe majority of the total supplyāinto a series of escrow contracts. Each contract held 1 billion XRP, set to be released monthly over 55 months.
However, any unused portion is returned to escrow, with a new contract pushed to the back of the queue, i.e., re-locked for 55 months.
During active sale periods, these movements could result in noticeable spikes in total transfer volume, especially when paired with high speculative interest.
š š š š š š š š š š 370,000,000 #XRP (778,259,699 USD) locked in escrow at #Ripplehttps://t.co/Rk079yzgNf
ā Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 2, 2025
Bitcoin and Ethereum outperform XRP overall
Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to dominate XRP in terms of daily transfer volume, highlighting broader adoption and greater trust in these ecosystems.
The overall average daily transfer volume for Bitcoin across the full data set is approximately $23.26 billion, according to Glassnode.
Bitcoin total transfer volume. Source: Glassnode
In recent years, the network has settled an average of $64.03 billion per day over the past 30 days, likely due to strong institutional flows,Ā ETF-driven activity,Ā and speculative trading.
Meanwhile, Ethereum's overall daily transfer volume is approximately $2.53 billion. But its recent 30-day average of the same comes to be at around $5.67 billion.
Ethereum total transfer volume. Source: Glassnode
Total transfer volume reflects real-life usage
Transfer volume is a key onchain metric, showing how much real value is settled daily via blockchain. High volumes, especially when sustained, indicate greater user activity in moving money onchain.
Bitcoin and Ethereum see consistent activity from custodians, ETFs, and DeFi apps.
In XRPās case, however, usage appears concentrated around trading cycles. Despite Rippleās efforts to promote XRP in cross-border settlements via On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), onchain volumes suggest limited adoption among enterprise users.
However, XRPL has recently introduced tools forĀ stablecoin issuance, tokenization, and EVM compatibility.
Related: Redemption arcs of 2024: Rippleās victory, memecoinsā rise, RWA growth
In Q4 2024, for instance, the ledgerās Automated Market Maker (AMM) volume increased by 3,100%, reflecting exponential growth in usage.
XRP Ledger Key Metrics as of Dec. 31, 2024. Source: Messari
However, these innovations have yet to generate volume levels comparable to Ethereum and Bitcoin.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.