XRP News Today: Institutions Back XRP Amid Declining Burns, Citing Real-World Utility

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has sparked renewed debate over the role of token burns in driving the cryptocurrency's value, with experts emphasizing that utility and institutional adoption-not burn rates-are the primary factors supporting XRP's price. Despite a burn rate of just 0.014% of the token supply since 2012, XRP has seen growing real-world use cases, including cross-border payments and institutional treasury allocations, according to recent analyses.

The burn mechanism, which permanently destroys small fractions of XRP collected as transaction fees, has drawn scrutiny as daily burns have plummeted to near zero. As of September 2025, only 163 XRP were burned in a single day, a sharp decline from earlier months. Critics argue that the low burn rate undermines XRP's scarcity narrative, with attorney Bill Morgan noting, "Tokens lacking intrinsic value rely on burns to artificially boost prices. Valuable tokens grow based on utility and demand." Morgan's stance aligns with XRP community members who highlight the token's expanding role in cross-border settlements and its adoption by institutions like Reliance Global Group, which recently acquired $17 million in XRP for its treasury TheCryptoBasic^[1].

XRP's burn mechanism differs significantly from aggressive strategies seen in projects like Shiba Inu (SHIB), which has burned over 41% of its supply. While SHIB's deflationary model relies on large-scale burns to reduce supply, XRP's approach is designed to prevent network spam through minimal fees. This has led to a cumulative burn of only 14.21 million XRP (0.014% of its 100 billion total supply) over the past decade TheFinancialAnalyst^[2]. Analysts argue that XRP's price resilience-despite near-zero burns-reflects its utility as a bridge asset for cross-border transactions and its integration into institutional portfolios.

Institutional interest in XRP has surged, with corporate holdings exceeding $11.5 billion as of September 2025. Reliance Global Group's XRP acquisition follows similar moves by Japanese firm SBI Holdings, which holds $10.4 billion in XRP, and U.S.-based Trident Digital, which plans to secure up to $500 million in XRP reserves. These purchases underscore XRP's appeal for treasury diversification, driven by its fast settlement times (3-5 seconds), low fees (fractions of a cent), and energy efficiency compared to proof-of-work blockchains Coinotag^[3].

The decline in burn rates has not deterred XRP's price performance, which reached an all-time high of $3.65 in July 2025 before retreating to $2.88. Analysts attribute this resilience to factors beyond supply reduction, including Ripple's legal clarity post-SEC settlement, the launch of the first U.S. spot XRP ETF, and growing institutional demand. "XRP's future hinges on adoption metrics, escrow balances, and payment partnerships, not burn data," noted a September 2025 analysis AnalyticsInsight^[4].

Comparisons with Shiba Inu highlight XRP's real-world utility. While SHIB's price remains sentiment-driven, XRP's growth is supported by institutional adoption and enterprise-grade applications. For instance, Reliance's XRP purchase is seen as a strategic move to leverage the token for blockchain-based insurance and payment integrations, mirroring similar initiatives by travel and healthcare firms CoinPedia^[5].

Despite the drop in burn rates, XRP's tokenomics remain stable. Ripple maintains 35.3 billion XRP in escrow, preventing uncontrolled supply inflation, while the XRP Ledger's active account count has surpassed seven million. These metrics, combined with institutional interest, suggest that XRP's value proposition is evolving from supply-driven narratives to utility-based adoption.