XRP got off to a weak start to 2026 from a market perspective, but activity on the XRP Ledger increased sharply over the same period, according to Messari’s State of XRP Q1 2026 report.
Summary
- The price of XRP fell 27% in the first quarter, but daily XRPL transactions increased 35.3% to 2.48 million.
- RLUSD reached $340.3 million worth of XRPL, making it the largest stablecoin on the network at the end of the quarter.
- XRPL’s RWA market capitalization rose 124.1% quarter-on-quarter to $2.25 billion, hitting a new quarterly high.
XRP price fell as trading cooled
messer saying XRP ended the first quarter as the fourth-largest non-stable crypto asset by market value, behind bitcoin, Ethereum and BNB. Still, the token followed the broader market decline during the quarter.
XRP market capitalization fell 26.3% quarter-on-quarter to $82.21 billion. Its price also fell 27.1% to $1.34, while circulating supply increased 1.1% to 61.34 billion XRP.
Business activity also slowed. Messari said average daily spot volume fell 32%, while perpetual futures volume declined 28.6% during the quarter.
The report says that US Spot XRP ETFs ended the first quarter with 775.4 million XRP. That represented 1.26% of circulating supply and 1.9% more than the previous quarter.
XRPL transactions rose
While XRP price weakened, network activity moved in the opposite direction. Messari said average daily transactions on the XRP Ledger increased by 35.3% quarter over quarter.
Daily transactions increased from 1.83 million to 2.48 million. The rise suggests that XRPL usage expanded even as the token price and trading activity cooled.
The report linked that growth to the network’s broader set of features. XRPL continues to support payments, token issuance, decentralized liquidity, real-world assets, and stablecoins.
Messari also noted that XRP remains tied to network usage through transaction fees, account reserves, liquidity, asset ownership, and cross-currency bridges.
RLUSD and tokenized assets lead growth
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin grew during the quarter. Messari said RLUSD closed the first quarter with a market capitalization of $340.3 million in XRPL, up 44.9% quarter-on-quarter.
That made RLUSD the largest stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. The report also says that RLUSD had more XRPL holders than Ethereum at the end of the quarter, although Ethereum still handled a higher volume of transfers.
XRPL’s real-world asset market capitalization also increased sharply. Messari said RWA’s market capitalization on the network increased 124.1% quarter over quarter to $2.25 billion.
The growth pushed XRPL into the top group of public blockchains for tokenized assets. The report says the network ranked seventh by RWA market capitalization at the end of the first quarter and fourth at the time of publication.
Institutional financing tools are expanded
Messari said that new institutional financial tools also advanced during the quarter. Permissioned Domains, Permissioned DEX, and Token Escrow have been activated on XRPL.
The native loan and asset vault features remained in the vote. If approved, those tools could support lending, borrowing, and more structured use of XRP and other assets on the network.
as before reported According to crypto.news, Morgan Stanley recently revealed small positions in two XRP-focused ETFs. XRP funds also attracted $85.8 million in inflows over three weeks, showing continued demand across regulated products.
Separate coverage also has noted a key market tension. RLUSD may help increase XRPL usage, but stablecoin liquidation does not always create the same direct demand for XRP as a bridge asset.
Messari said his report was commissioned by Ripple, while Messari retained editorial control. The report still shows a clear split in the first quarter: XRP price and trading activity fell, while XRPL transactions, RLUSD adoption, and tokenized asset growth rose.
