XRP and XLM Show Strong Long-Term Correlation Amid Diverging Adoption and Market Interest

• XLM and XRP have demonstrated a strong, decade-long price correlation, driven by shared origins and a mutual focus on cross-border payment solutions.

• Automated trading bots amplify this relationship by reacting swiftly to XRP news, causing parallel price movements in XLM and maintaining a correlation above 0.85.

• Despite XLM leading in active addresses and total value locked (TVL), XRP retains retail dominance due to greater media exposure and optimism around an XRP ETF.

Explore the enduring price correlation between XLM and XRP, their competitive on-chain metrics, and the factors influencing their market dynamics in 2025.

Decade-Long Price Correlation Between XLM and XRP Explained

Over the past ten years, XLM and XRP have exhibited an unusually high price correlation, a phenomenon rarely seen among altcoin pairs. CoinMarketCap data reveals that despite occasional volatility differences, their price trends have closely mirrored each other, with correlation coefficients reaching as high as 0.97 over the past month and 0.87 over the past year according to Defillama.

This persistent alignment is partly rooted in their shared history. Stellar’s founder, Jed McCaleb, was a key Ripple team member before launching Stellar Development in 2014, receiving a substantial XRP allocation. This intertwined origin story influences investor sentiment, often leading to simultaneous evaluations of both tokens.

Price movement comparison between XLM and XRP. Source: CoinmarketCap

Further reinforcing this correlation are automated trading bots that respond instantly to XRP-related news. As software engineer Vincent Van Code highlighted, these bots execute trades across correlated assets like XLM within milliseconds, effectively synchronizing their price movements.

Both cryptocurrencies also share a focus on enhancing cross-border payments, a sector gaining renewed attention following the US Federal Reserve’s adoption of the ISO 20022 messaging standard via Fedwire. This common use case underpins their market linkage, as investor Sushil Pathiyar aptly summarized: “Two currencies, but same use cases.”

XLM vs. XRP: On-Chain Metrics and Market Positioning in 2025

While XRP continues to attract significant retail and institutional interest, XLM has demonstrated impressive growth in key on-chain metrics, challenging XRP’s dominance in certain areas. Artemis data from July 2025 shows XLM boasting approximately 80,000 daily active addresses, more than double XRP’s 33,000. Additionally, XLM’s total value locked (TVL) has surged past $137 million, eclipsing XRP’s TVL by a factor of two.

Comparison of Daily Active Addresses And TVL Between XLM And XRP. Source: Artemis

This shift marks a significant milestone, as XLM’s TVL was previously below XRP’s in May 2025. Investor Gordon encapsulated this sentiment, stating, “XLM does everything XRP does. Just better.”

However, when evaluating broader market interest, XRP maintains a clear advantage. Google Trends data illustrates that XRP consistently outpaces XLM in search volume, reflecting stronger retail investor engagement. This disparity translates into trading volume, with XRP averaging over $6 billion daily compared to XLM’s $1.3 billion.

Interest in XLM vs. XRP Based on Google Trends. Source: Google Trends

XRP’s higher visibility is further bolstered by ongoing speculation about a potential XRP ETF approval and Ripple’s strategic political connections, factors that continue to drive retail enthusiasm.

Conclusion

The enduring price correlation between XLM and XRP reflects their intertwined histories, shared focus on cross-border payments, and the influence of automated trading strategies. While XLM leads in active addresses and TVL, XRP’s greater retail traction and media presence sustain its market prominence. Investors should consider these complementary strengths when evaluating both assets, as their futures remain closely linked within the evolving crypto landscape.