XRPL Network Sees Surge in Activity Amid Inscription Popularity and Stablecoin Developments

• The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has significantly increased network activity this year, marked by a 37% rise in active addresses and a 113% boost in transactions, according to a recent Messari report.
• A large portion of this activity originated from around 45,000 accounts that collectively sent over 30 million transactions to a single address, primarily for inscriptions.
• XRPL’s ability to handle these high transaction volumes without issues, maintaining over 80 transactions per second for an entire day, demonstrates its robustness.

Discover how the XRPL network’s recent surge in activity and unique transaction types impact its future growth and stability.

The Impact of Inscriptions on XRPL Network Activity

The introduction of inscriptions, a new transaction type that became popular on Bitcoin earlier this year, has now extended to XRPL, leading to significant activity spikes. These inscriptions have driven much of the recent increase in transaction volumes.

According to Messari, XRPL managed to sustain over 80 transactions per second for an entire day without any network disruptions, highlighting its resilience. The network saw an addition of 150,000 new accounts, marking a 3.1% increase for a total of 5.15 million accounts.

The number of new addresses showed a 12.4% quarterly decline to 183,000, attributed to a surge in Q4 due to inscription activities. Despite this quarterly drop, there was a 29.8% annual increase from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024. Deleted addresses also rose significantly by 55.9% quarter-over-quarter to 33,000 as inscription activities waned.

Analyzing Unique Senders Versus Receivers

The report also revealed a notable 92% quarterly increase in unique senders, surpassing unique receivers for the first time since Q1 2022. This shift underscores the significant influence of inscription activities on network dynamics.

DeFi and Stablecoins on the XRPL Network

Despite the increase in activity, the total market cap for fungible tokens on XRPL, known as Issued Currencies, dropped by 16% quarter-over-quarter to $142 million. Sologenic (SOLO) emerged as the leading token, accounting for 42% of the total market cap, with the top three tokens making up 65% collectively.

Stablecoins and wrapped tokens have gained traction on XRPL, particularly in terms of the number of holders, outpacing many other tokens. Notably, platforms like Gatehub and Xumm have collaborated to introduce 14 digital assets on XRPL, bolstering its ecosystem.

However, stablecoins on XRPL have yet to achieve the adoption levels seen with leading stablecoins like Tether’s USDT or Circle’s USDC on other networks. This scenario could change given Ripple’s recent announcement of launching a USD-pegged stablecoin on both XRPL and Ethereum, designed to leverage native XRPL functionality and ERC-20 standards, respectively.

This forthcoming stablecoin, fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US treasuries, and other cash equivalents, will undergo monthly third-party attestations. If successful, it could trigger a significant liquidity surge within the XRPL network.

Conclusion

The recent surge in XRPL network activity, driven largely by inscriptions and resulting in both increased active addresses and transactions, underscores its growing significance in the blockchain ecosystem. While there are areas for growth, particularly with stablecoins, Ripple’s strategic initiatives could potentially lead to substantial developments. The resilience and scalability of XRPL will be critical in accommodating future demands and sustaining growth.