XRP’s Blockchain Marks 14 Years With Surging Activity, Yet Token Sinks to a Yearly Low

Despite record transactions and $2.25B in tokenized assets, XRP drops 45% over 12 months. Institutional ETFs see $118M inflows while regulatory clarity looms.

The XRP Ledger turned 14 on Tuesday, an anniversary that highlights a rare trait in crypto: endurance. Since its genesis block in June 2012, the network has processed over 4 billion transactions, activated roughly 7.9 million wallets, and maintained availability above 99.99% across more than 100 million closed ledgers. Yet the token that powers the system is trading near its weakest point in a year. XRP changed hands at $1.21 on Tuesday, a 6.54% drop on the day and a 35.5% decline since the start of 2025. Over 12 months the loss deepens to 45%.

The divergence between network health and price performance has become stark. Daily transaction volumes on the ledger recently topped 1 million payments, with a settlement value close to 1.511 billion XRP. In the first quarter, average daily transactions jumped 35.3% from the prior quarter to 2.48 million, according to Messari. A key driver has been tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), a segment that expanded 124% to $2.25 billion on the XRP Ledger. That shift reframes the platform as a settlement and compliance layer for institutional assets rather than a pure payments vehicle — a narrative that could underpin long-term value, even if it hasn't moved the needle on the token's price yet.

Institutional money is already flowing into XRP-related products, even as the spot price languishes. US-listed spot XRP ETFs attracted net inflows of $118 million in May, the strongest month this year. Bitwise, Canary Capital and Franklin Templeton are among the issuers benefiting. Goldman Sachs has emerged as the largest institutional holder of XRP ETF shares, with roughly $154 million in assets under management. Across 83 reporting institutions, total holdings in the segment stand at about $1.21 billion. That appetite for regulated exposure stands in sharp contrast to the broader market mood: the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit 23, deep in “extreme fear” territory.

Ripple, the company most associated with XRP, is simultaneously pushing a regulatory and infrastructure agenda. On June 2 it opened an expanded office in Washington D.C., which chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty described as a hub for engaging Congress, regulators and industry partners. The move comes as more than 100 crypto firms, including Coinbase and Kraken, jointly lobby for a vote on the CLARITY Act, legislation that would for the first time provide a clear classification for digital assets. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the window for regulatory clarity is “wide open” and the industry is “closer than ever” to a breakthrough.

Elsewhere, Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD is live on Binance after launching in Turkey, with deposits on the XRP Ledger available since February 2026. Meanwhile, Evernorth Holdings — a Ripple-backed entity — has filed an amended S-4 with the SEC for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker “XRPN.” The company is targeting an “XRP Treasury” with investor commitments exceeding $1 billion, backed by firms such as SBI Holdings and Pantera Capital.

Despite these strategic tailwinds, the token remains pinned near its 52-week low of $1.21. The 52-week high of $3.56 is a distant memory. On June 1, the monthly escrow release unfurled 1 billion XRP, with Ripple immediately placing about 700 million back into new escrow contracts. The company’s remaining holdings stand at approximately 33.35 billion XRP. The market is now watching whether the political push in Washington can convert into actual regulatory clarity — a vote on the CLARITY Act is seen as a potential catalyst that could finally break XRP out of its price funk and align the token’s valuation with the network’s rising utility.