XRP’s Network Fees Crash 91.5% While Mastercard and CME Bolster Institutional Case

On-chain data shows XRP transaction fees drop 91.5%, token near $1.11, deep in oversold territory while Ripple rolls out stablecoins, AI tools, and a June upgrade.

The gap between Ripple’s technological momentum and XRP’s market reality has never been wider. On-chain data shows that average transaction fees on the XRP Ledger have plunged 91.5% from their February 2025 peak over the past 90 days — a stark signal that user demand has evaporated even as the project attracts blue-chip partners and rolls out new infrastructure.

XRP itself is trading near $1.11, a stone’s throw from its 52-week low of $1.05. The token has shed roughly 40% since the start of the year and is down nearly 50% over the past twelve months from a July 2025 high of $3.65. The relative strength index sits at 35.7, deep in oversold territory, yet no meaningful bounce has materialised. The realised profit/loss ratio has fallen to 0.38, meaning most coins changing hands are being sold at a loss — a pattern analysts often interpret as capitulation.

A Builder’s Agenda That Ignores the Price

Against this grim backdrop, Ripple’s development and partnership engine is firing on all cylinders. The Mexican crypto exchange Bitso has integrated its peso-pegged stablecoin MXNB onto the XRP Ledger, expanding it from a single-chain asset on Base to a multi-chain offering. The move targets the US-Mexico payment corridor, which processes roughly $60 billion annually. Companies will be able to use both MXNB and Ripple’s own dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD as liquidity sources via Ripple’s “Payments on DEX” infrastructure. Bitso’s platform serves more than ten million users.

Ripple has also rolled out the XRPL AI Starter Kit, a developer toolkit that leverages the x402 protocol to enable autonomous payments between AI agents using XRP and RLUSD. In the past 30 days, the protocol has processed over 75 million transactions worth $24.4 million. Mastercard has named RippleX an early partner in its “Agent Pay for Machines” initiative, which focuses on automated multi-rail settlement.

On the institutional front, XRP-linked investment products have seen small but steady inflows of roughly $1 million per day. The CME Group recently launched new crypto index futures that include XRP alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum.

An Upgrade Designed for Scale

The XRP Ledger is scheduled for a technical upgrade on June 15. The software, rebranded from “rippled” to “xrpld”, will reduce node memory requirements by around 40% while improving transaction throughput and network stability. If the token can hold support above $1.05, the upgrade could provide a catalyst; a breach risks triggering further sell-offs.

Meanwhile, regulatory attention is building. The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act is making its way through the US Senate. A White House meeting on June 11 brought lawmakers and law enforcement together to discuss crypto-crime provisions, though it remains unclear whether Democrats will supply enough votes to bring the bill to the floor before the summer recess. Its outcome could fundamentally reshape the regulatory landscape for XRP and the broader sector.

For now, XRP’s derivatives market is showing signs of strain. Hyperliquid briefly overtook XRP in futures open interest, and XRP currently holds around $2.45 billion in open contracts — a figure that suggests traders are hedging rather than betting on a rebound.