XRP, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is attracting growing interest from institutional and retail investors in 2025. Ripple’s recently published Q1 2025 XRP Markets Report offers deeper insight into the altcoin’s performance.
The report reveals a striking contrast: spot trading volumes surged, while on-chain activity on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) declined significantly.
Spot Volume and Investment Flows into XRP Rise Sharply
According to the report, XRP’s spot trading volume remained steady in Q1 2025, with the average daily volume reaching $3.2 billion across major exchanges.
Notably, trading volume spiked at the end of January and early February. It peaked above $16 billion before gradually declining in March. Binance led with around 40% of total volume, followed by Upbit (15%) and Coinbase (12%).
XRP Spot Exchange Volume Q1/2025. Source: Ripple
The share of USD and USD stablecoin volume traded through fiat pairs rose from 25% in Q4 2024 to 29% in Q1. This increase indicates growing demand for fiat trading. XRP’s price also posted an impressive rally, reaching a peak of $3.40—its highest since January 2018—and outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum during the same period.
XRP-based investment products also attracted strong inflows, with year-to-date totals reaching $214 million, nearly overtaking global Ethereum funds.
However, one analyst pointed out daily trading volume has plummeted by more than 86% over the past six months.
Daily XRP Trading Volume on Centralized Exchanges. Source: Arkham
“XRP volume collapsed from $60 billion in december to under $8 billion now. Retail got flushed out,” crypto analyst Steph said.
Despite declining intraday volume, the overall market context in 2025, marked by positive regulatory shifts, has helped XRP maintain its appeal. For example, the SEC officially withdrew its appeal, closing a multi-year lawsuit.
Meanwhile, signs of growing institutional confidence include Franklin Templeton filing for an XRP ETF in the US, CME launching XRP futures, and Volatility Shares seeking approval for three XRP ETFs.
On-Chain XRP Activity Sees Sharp Decline
In contrast to the active spot market, on-chain activity on XRPL has dropped significantly.
The report shows a 37.06% decline in the number of transactions on XRPL, from 167.7 million in Q4 2024 to 105.5 million in Q1 2025. New wallet creations fell by 40.28%, from 709,545 to 423,727. The amount of XRP burned as transaction fees also declined by 30.89%.
Meanwhile, decentralized exchange (DEX) volume dropped by 16.94%, from $1 billion to $832 million.
Data from DefiLlama reveals that XRPL’s total value locked (TVL) has remained flat in 2025 at around $80 million. Monthly DEX volume hovered around just $3.3 million, which seems disproportionately low given XRP’s position as the fourth-largest crypto asset by market cap.
XRPL TVL and DEX volume. Source: DefiLlama
However, the report suggests that Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road could help boost XRPL’s on-chain activity.
“Ripple acquired Hidden Road for $1.25B — one of the largest M&A deals in crypto history – driving more institutional use cases for RLUSD and XRPL,” the report stated.
Ripple’s Q1 2025 report paints a two-sided picture: spot trading volume surged, reflecting investor confidence, while the drop in on-chain activity raises questions about XRPL’s practical usage.
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