Crypto

XRP Ledger Payments Count Falls to Lowest Since October as XRP Fails to Keep With Bitcoin

In the second quarter of 2024, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) experienced a significant decline in on-chain activity. According to Ripple’s Q2 2024 XRP Markets Report, transaction volumes dropped by 65.6%, with approximately 86.38 million transactions recorded, compared to 251.39 million in the first quarter of the same year .

This downturn coincided with a 168% surge in average transaction costs, reaching 0.00394 XRP per transaction. Ripple attributed the increased costs to heightened network load, a measure intended to protect the peer-to-peer network from spam .

While XRP faced these challenges, Bitcoin (BTC) continued to perform robustly, reaching new all-time highs during the same period. This divergence in performance has raised concerns among investors about XRP’s ability to keep pace with leading cryptocurrencies .

Despite the recent decline, the XRP Ledger has historically demonstrated resilience. As of September 2023, it had processed over 2.6 billion transactions, surpassing both Bitcoin and Ethereum in total transaction count . However, the recent drop in activity underscores the need for strategic adjustments to maintain its competitive edge in the evolving crypto landscape.