XRP Ledger Activity Spikes as 21K Wallets Added in 48 Hours: What’s Driving Network Growth?

XRP Ledger Records Sharpest Expansion Since February

The XRP Ledger has seen a surge in on-chain activity, adding more than 21,595 new wallets within 48 hours, according to blockchain analytics platforms like CoinMetrics. The growth marks the network’s fastest acceleration in over eight months, signaling renewed interest from both retail participants and institutional players.

Data compiled from XRPL metrics show that active addresses also climbed sharply over the same period, reaching nearly 295,000 daily interactions, up roughly sevenfold from the network’s monthly average. This spike, analysts say, underscores a reawakening in one of crypto’s longest-standing layer-1 ecosystems.

While the XRP price itself has remained relatively stable near the $2.28 range, the sudden rise in new wallets suggests that capital and users are quietly returning to the ledger amid broader optimism around its expanding utility stack.

What’s Behind the Surge in Wallet Creation?

The timing of the wallet surge is not random. Multiple on-chain indicators and ecosystem updates suggest a convergence of factors driving this momentum:

Network Upgrades Improving Infrastructure

Recent XRP Ledger updates have enhanced validator performance and reduced transaction latency, paving the way for higher throughput. Developers have also been testing automated market maker (AMM) features and sidechain integrations, while RippleX, Ripple’s developer arm, continues advancing the EVM-compatible sidechain toward mainnet. These upgrades have made onboarding smoother for both individual users and enterprise applications, naturally boosting wallet activations.

Institutional and Fintech Partnerships Gaining Traction

Ripple’s growing list of collaborations with global payment providers, including pilot programs for tokenized assets and cross-border settlements, has re-positioned the XRP Ledger as an enterprise-grade infrastructure layer. As these initiatives expand, new wallets are often created to facilitate institutional setup and user participation.

Renewed Retail and Whale Activity

After months of muted engagement, retail sentiment toward the XRP token and XRP Ledger has improved noticeably since mid-October. On-chain data from CryptoQuant shows that wallets holding over one million XRP have reached their highest count on record, a trend that typically coincides with accumulation phases and renewed liquidity.

Institutional Attention and Ecosystem Development

The growth also reflects a broader institutional pivot back to blockchain infrastructure rather than speculative trading. Several fintech firms have recently announced XRP Ledger-based integrations, from cross-border remittance layers to decentralized identity pilots. These projects require new wallets at the protocol level, explaining part of the surge.

Ripple’s recent discussions with global regulators and financial institutions around stablecoin issuance on XRP Ledger have further amplified this interest. If realized, such initiatives could position XRP Ledger as a compliance-ready settlement layer for tokenized fiat, attracting both liquidity providers and developers.

“XRP Ledger’s architecture is built for scalability and low-cost transactions, which makes it uniquely positioned for institutional payment rails,” said an industry researcher covering digital-asset infrastructure. “When you see thousands of wallets suddenly come online, it’s often in preparation for testing or deployment, not just retail hype.”

As XRP Ledger-based fintech integrations grow, services like tokenized fiat rails and crypto debit card access could further boost utility for both enterprise and end-users.

Whale Accumulation and Retail On-Chain Activity

XRP Ledger shows strong network expansion with notable wallet growth alongside price fluctuations. (Source: Santiment)

The network’s structural data show that large holders are becoming increasingly active. Whale transactions, defined as transfers exceeding $100,000 in value, have risen steadily over the past two weeks, coinciding with smaller wallet growth. Analysts interpret this as an early sign of both accumulation and renewed liquidity cycles.

At the same time, smaller retail wallets are interacting more frequently with decentralized exchange functions built into the XRP Ledger. Daily decentralized-exchange (DEX) volumes are up roughly 15% week-over-week, driven by swaps between XRP and stablecoin pairs. This rise in micro-transactions reflects broader engagement rather than isolated whale activity.

Unlike networks that rely heavily on staking or mining rewards, XRP Ledger’s organic activity comes from payment processing and application usage. The latest data suggests that, after a slow summer, both of these verticals are showing life again.

Market Context: A Shift in On-Chain Capital

The wallet expansion arrives during a period of renewed interest in blockchain utility beyond speculation. Across the market, capital is rotating from stagnant stablecoin positions into productive ecosystems, particularly those with established regulatory standing or enterprise partnerships. XRP Ledger fits that profile neatly.

Broader risk sentiment has also improved. Bitcoin and Ethereum remain near multi-month highs, and institutional participation through ETFs has helped restore confidence across digital assets. That shift in sentiment is flowing downstream into altcoin networks like XRP Ledger, where long-term fundamentals are now under renewed scrutiny.

This environment benefits XRP Ledger in particular because it positions itself not as a “DeFi yield” platform but as an infrastructure layer for payments, bridging traditional finance and tokenized settlements. Users entering the space via a fiat to crypto onramp are helping fuel this renewed activity.

Comparing Network Growth to Other Layer-1s

The XRP Ledger’s wallet growth rate over the past two days outpaces several other leading layer-1 networks during the same period. For example, Solana added just under 12,000 new active wallets, while Avalanche and Cardano each saw fewer than 9,000, according to Messari data.

That differential suggests the XRP Ledger is capturing fresh attention, not just from speculative traders, but from developers and financial institutions testing new integrations. The ledger’s low-fee model and consistent transaction finality make it a practical sandbox for real-world pilots, something its peers can’t always match due to higher network costs or congestion.

Risks and Sustainability

Despite the encouraging data, analysts warn that short-term wallet growth doesn’t guarantee long-term adoption. Some of the new wallets may belong to automated systems, test environments, or airdrop participants rather than individual users. Sustaining momentum will require continued developer engagement and meaningful on-chain use cases.

“The real test for XRP Ledger is not wallet count, it’s transaction persistence,” said a market strategist at Delphi Digital. “If the new accounts stay active for months, that’s a sign of genuine network expansion. If they go dormant, it’s just a temporary spike.”

Regulatory overhang also remains a factor. Although Ripple achieved partial clarity in its ongoing legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, broader stablecoin and tokenization policies remain fluid. Institutional adoption may depend on how quickly these frameworks evolve in major jurisdictions.

Why This Matters for the XRP’s Broader Outlook

For the XRP community, the wallet-creation boom could represent more than a statistical anomaly. It highlights the ledger’s capacity to attract both new users and enterprise-level integrations, a sign that XRP’s utility narrative may be regaining traction.

If sustained, the influx of wallets could boost network liquidity, stimulate development of new decentralized apps, and strengthen XRP Ledger’s positioning as a bridge between fiat systems and tokenized markets. Combined with Ripple’s push into real-world asset tokenization and cross-border payments, the ledger’s user expansion reinforces the idea that traditional and digital finance are converging on-chain.

This rise also coincides with broader attention toward live crypto prices, as users monitor shifts across ecosystems to find utility-driven opportunities.

At the same time, analysts emphasize patience. The XRP Ledger has seen bursts of growth before, followed by consolidation. The challenge now is to convert these new addresses into consistent, value-generating participants, whether individuals, institutions, or automated services.

Conclusion

The XRP Ledger’s addition of over 21,000 new wallets in just two days marks one of its most active growth phases of 2025. While it’s too early to declare a full-scale revival, the data point reflects a notable resurgence in network participation and on-chain utility.

Whether this momentum turns into a lasting expansion will depend on sustained developer innovation, institutional follow-through, and continued confidence in the ledger’s role as a compliant, high-throughput blockchain for global payments.

For users looking to engage directly, having a secure digital wallet is key to maintaining accessibility across XRP Ledger apps and services.

For now, though, the numbers are clear: after months of dormancy, the XRP Ledger is alive again, and growing faster than it has in nearly a year.