XRP's Daily Transfer Volume Surges 130% Post-Trump Reelection

XRP, the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), is often praised for its high-speed and low-cost capabilities in facilitating cross-border payments. However, the actual value transferred through the network on a daily basis has been a subject of interest. According to recent data from Glassnode, the daily transfer volume of XRP in US dollars typically ranges between $300 million and $1 billion. This range indicates a significant amount of activity on the XRP network, reflecting its utility in various financial transactions.

Since November 2024, following Donald Trump's reelection as US President, the daily transfer volume of XRP has seen a notable increase. The average daily transfer volume settled on the XRP blockchain has risen to $2.28 billion. This surge in activity is likely driven by the price boom of XRP during the same period, which has attracted more users and investors to the network. However, it is important to note that these spikes in transfer volume do not necessarily indicate steady adoption or increased payment activity. Instead, they could be attributed to speculative behavior, Ripple-related transfers, whale movements, and the reshuffling of tokens between exchanges.

One of the key factors contributing to the spikes in XRP's daily transfer volume is the large token sales conducted by Ripple and its co-founder, Chris Larsen. In September 2024, Larsen transferred 50 million XRP, valued at approximately $29 million, from a wallet that had been inactive for over 11 years. By early 2025, Larsen had sold over $116 million worth of XRP, reducing the reserves in one of his wallets from 500 million to 410 million XRP. These sales are significant not only for their scale but also for their timing, which coincided with XRP's rally past $3. The SEC had previously estimated that Larsen sold around $453.69 million worth of XRP between 2017 and 2020, highlighting the ongoing liquidation of his holdings.

Ripple, the company behind XRP, has also been actively selling XRP from escrow since 2017. Initially, Ripple released up to 1 billion XRP per month, often returning unsold tokens to escrow. During the cryptocurrency's 30,000% rally in Q4 2017, Ripple sold $91.6 million worth of XRP. In Q3 2018, during volatile markets, the firm sold $163 million. In Q2 2019, Ripple sold $251 million, one of its largest sales to date. However, sales dropped to $1.75 million in Q1 2020, likely due to regulatory pressure from the SEC. Across 2021, Ripple sold around $1.5 billion worth of XRP, according to its reports. This pattern suggests that Ripple tends to ramp up sales during bullish periods and scale back during price downtrends.

In 2017, Ripple locked 55 billion XRP, the majority of the total supply, into a series of escrow contracts. Each contract held 1 billion XRP, set to be released monthly over 55 months. Any unused portion is returned to escrow, with a new contract pushed to the back of the queue, effectively re-locking it for 55 months. During active sale periods, these movements can result in noticeable spikes in total transfer volume, especially when paired with high speculative interest. This mechanism ensures that the supply of XRP remains controlled and predictable, which is crucial for maintaining its value and stability.

Despite the significant transfer volumes, XRP still lags behind Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of daily transfer volume. Bitcoin's overall average daily transfer volume is approximately $23.26 billion, with a recent 30-day average of $64.03 billion. This high volume is likely due to strong institutional flows, ETF-driven activity, and speculative trading. Ethereum's overall daily transfer volume is approximately $2.53 billion, with a recent 30-day average of $5.67 billion. These figures highlight the broader adoption and greater trust in the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems compared to XRP.

Transfer volume is a key on-chain metric that shows how much real value is settled daily via blockchain. High volumes, especially when sustained, indicate greater user activity in moving money on-chain. Bitcoin and Ethereum see consistent activity from custodians, ETFs, and DeFi apps. In contrast, XRP's usage appears concentrated around trading cycles. Despite Ripple's efforts to promote XRP in cross-border settlements via On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), on-chain volumes suggest limited adoption among enterprise users. However, the XRPL has recently introduced tools for stablecoin issuance, tokenization, and EVM compatibility, which could drive future growth and adoption.

In Q4 2024, for instance, the ledger's Automated Market Maker (AMM) volume increased by 3,100%, reflecting exponential growth in usage. However, these innovations have yet to generate volume levels comparable to Ethereum and Bitcoin. This indicates that while XRP has the potential for significant growth, it still has a way to go before it can match the transfer volumes of its competitors. Overall, the daily transfer volume of XRP provides valuable insights into the network's activity and potential for future growth, highlighting both its strengths and areas for improvement.