The XRP Ledger (XRPL) experienced a significant decline in transaction volume during the second quarter of 2024, alongside a notable increase in transaction costs. According to Ripple’s Q2 2024 XRP Markets Report, the number of onchain transactions dropped by 65.6% compared to the previous quarter.
Significant Decline in Onchain Activity
In Q2 2024, XRPL recorded approximately 86.38 million transactions, a sharp decrease from the 251.39 million transactions in Q1. This decline mirrors a broader trend across major blockchain protocols, which also saw reduced activity during the same period. Ripple noted that “on-chain activities were noticeably lower in Q2 compared to Q1.”
Rising Transaction Costs
The average cost per transaction surged by 168% during the quarter, reaching 0.00394 XRP per transaction. This increase, aimed at mitigating spam and managing network load, led to a 141% spike in the average transaction cost when measured in USD. This shift is a stark contrast to the previous quarter, where transaction volumes more than doubled, and costs nearly halved.
Future Outlook and Developments
Despite the downturn in transactional activity, Ripple remains optimistic about the future of XRPL. The company expects the digital asset exchange Archax to introduce “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of tokenized Real-World Assets (RWA) to the platform in the coming year. Additionally, Ripple reiterated its plans to launch a stablecoin, Ripple USD, later in 2024. This stablecoin will be backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US government treasuries, and other cash equivalents.
Furthermore, the tokenization platform OpenEden recently launched tokenized United States Treasury bills (T-bills) on the XRPL. The TBILL tokens, backed by short-term US government T-bills and reverse repurchase agreements collateralized by US Treasurys, require minters to undergo Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) screening for compliance.
