by Iluobe Igho
The first quarter of the year has seen a mixed bag for XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL). According to a recent report by Ripple, XRP’s average daily trading volume on top-tier exchanges remained steady at $3.2 billion, indicating sustained institutional and retail engagement despite price swings and moderating on-chain activity.
Spot market data reveals that XRP’s trading volume spiked intermittently, particularly in late January and early February, when daily volumes exceeded $16 billion. Although activity tapered off into March, Binance retained a dominant market share, accounting for approximately 40% of exchange volume, followed by Upbit (15%) and Coinbase (12%).
Stablecoin Pairs Dominate Trading
XRP trading remained heavily skewed toward stablecoin pairs, led by USDT. The proportion of volume traded via fiat pairs increased modestly from 25% in the last quarter of 2024 to 29% in the first quarter, indicating a mild shift toward traditional currency rails.
This trend highlights XRP’s liquidity resilience and ongoing preference for stablecoin-based markets.
Outperforming Other Altcoins
XRP outperformed other major altcoins relative to the broader market, with the XRP/BTC volume ratio climbing more than 10% during the quarter. This performance placed XRP above Cardano (ADA), BNB, and Solana (SOL) in terms of rolling average dollar volume.
At quarter-end, XRP traded at $2.09, with a 30-day average daily volume of $2.8 billion and a 90-day average daily volume of $3.3 billion, trailing only Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in absolute trading activity.
Read also: XRP is predicted to reach $10 as Ripple’s legal battle nears end.
Volatility and Price Performance
XRP’s price trajectory followed a sharp arc through the quarter, rallying to a multi-year high of $3.40 in early February before retracing to $2.09 by the end of March. Realized volatility reflected these moves, beginning the year at 150%, then falling to near 100% during a period of market calm, before rebounding to stabilize around 130% through the rest of the quarter.
On-Chain Activity Contracts
While exchange volume held firm, on-chain activity on the XRPL declined in line with broader crypto network slowdowns. Total transactions fell by over 37% quarter-over-quarter to 105.5 million, while wallet creation dropped 40% to 423,727.
XRP burned as transaction fees decreased by 31%, and average transaction costs in US dollars doubled due to the increase in XRP’s price.
Read also: US SEC proposes XRP as a Strategic Financial Asset.
DeFi Activity Shows Resilience
Despite the contraction in core metrics, DeFi activity on XRPL proved relatively more durable. Decentralized exchanges’ volume declined 17%, outperforming on-chain metrics from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major blockchains. RLUSD, Ripple’s USD stablecoin, surpassed $90 million in market cap with over $300 million in cumulative decentralized trading volume.
The steady trading volume despite the slowdown in on-chain activity suggests that investors’ demand for short-term trading may be driving the market. As the crypto market continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how XRP’s trading volume and on-chain activity develop in the coming quarters.
Read also: XRP Price Projection: A Potential Surge to $65.63 by 2030?
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