A perfect storm hit the XRP Ledger in Q2: transaction volume crashed, and fees surged.
Earlier we saw disappointing revenue reports from MicroStrategy and Coinbase. Now it’s Ripple’s turn. As per Ripple’s “Q2 2024 XRP Markets Report,” transaction volume on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) saw a significant decline from the first to the second quarter of 2024, while the average transaction cost increased sharply.
During Q2 of 2024, onchain transaction activity on XRPL dropped by 65.6%, with about 86.38 million transactions compared to 251.39 million in Q1 of 2023, as highlighted in the report published on Aug. 2.
“Activity across most major protocols decreased in Q2. XRPL was no exception with on-chain activities noticeably lower in Q2 as compared to Q1.”
This decline in transaction activity coincided with a 168% surge in the cost per transaction, which rose to 0.00394 XRP per transaction. Ripple explained that this cost increase is a mechanism to protect the peer-to-peer network from spam under high network load.
The current trend contrasts with the previous quarter’s results, where transaction numbers more than doubled (108%) between Q4 of 2023 and Q1 of 2024, and the average transaction cost nearly halved (45%).
Despite the downturn in transactional activity, Ripple expects the digital asset exchange Archax to introduce “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of tokenized real-world assets onto the XRPL in the coming year.
Additionally, Ripple reiterated plans to launch a stablecoin, Ripple USD, backed by United States dollar deposits, short-term US government Treasurys, and other cash equivalents, sometime in 2024.
The release of Ripple’s Q2 2024 XRP Markets Report comes on the heels of a significant development for the XRP Ledger. Tokenization platform OpenEden has launched tokenized US Treasury bills (T-bills) on the XRPL.
These TBILL tokens, backed by short-term US government debt and collateralized by US Treasuries, represent a bridge between traditional finance and the world of cryptocurrencies. To ensure security and regulatory compliance, token minters will undergo rigorous Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks.
