Ripple’s Q1 2025 XRP Markets Report shows a sharp increase in XRP spot trading volume. Average daily volume reached $3.2 billion across major centralized exchanges. Spot trading means buying and selling crypto for immediate delivery rather than future contracts or derivatives.
Trading activity peaked in late January and early February, crossing $16 billion in daily volume. The figure declined in March but stayed higher than previous months. Binance led all exchanges with 40% of the XRP trading volume, followed by Upbit with 15% and Coinbase with 12%.
The share of trades using USD or USD-pegged stablecoins rose from 25% in Q4 2024 to 29% in Q1 2025. That indicates a shift toward fiat-based trading. XRP’s price hit $3.40 during this period, its highest since January 2018. Data from Ripple shows that XRP outperformed both Bitcoin and Ethereum over the same timeframe.
XRP Investment Products Attract $214 Million in Q1 2025
According to the report, XRP-based investment products saw strong inflows in Q1. These products include funds or instruments that give investors exposure to XRP without directly holding the token. Year-to-date inflows totaled $214 million by the end of Q1 2025.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its appeal in the ongoing Ripple case. That legal development removed uncertainty and made XRP more accessible in U.S. markets.
Meanwhile, asset manager Franklin Templeton filed an application for an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). An ETF is a regulated investment vehicle that tracks the price of a specific asset. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on the application until June 2025, citing the need for further review and public input.
In addition, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) announced it will launch XRP futures on May 19, 2025. These are contracts that allow traders to speculate on XRP’s future price. Volatility Shares also submitted filings for three XRP ETFs.
Daily Volume Drops 86% Since December 2024
While XRP’s overall quarterly spot volume increased, daily trading data paints a contrasting picture. Analyst Steph, citing Arkham data, highlighted a sharp drop in daily XRP volume—from $60 billion in December 2024 to below $8 billion by early May 2025. This figure represents combined trading volumes across centralized exchanges (CEXs), including Binance, Bybit, Deribit, and OKX.
Data from Arkham confirms that volume peaked in mid-December 2024, with several daily spikes exceeding $40 billion and one day approaching $60 billion. This period aligns with heightened activity on Binance and Bybit, seen in the dominant purple and orange bars in the volume chart. However, starting January 2025, volume began trending downward, with February showing intermittent surges but lower peaks than December.
By April 2025, daily volume had settled into a lower range, mostly between $5 billion and $15 billion. The visible compression in bar height suggests reduced participation from both institutional and retail traders. Binance remained the top contributor, followed by Bybit and OKX, though none reached their previous highs.
This divergence between quarterly and daily figures reflects concentrated trading in short periods—primarily in late January and early February—rather than consistent, high-volume engagement.
On-Chain XRP Transactions Down 37% on XRP Ledger
XRP Ledger (XRPL) activity dropped in Q1 2025. XRPL is a decentralized blockchain used to transfer XRP and support various functions like issuing tokens or interacting with decentralized finance (DeFi) tools. On-chain transactions refer to actions recorded directly on the blockchain.
The number of transactions on XRPL dropped by 37.06%, from 167.7 million in Q4 2024 to 105.5 million in Q1 2025. The number of newly created XRPL wallets also fell by 40.28%, from 709,545 to 423,727. Creating a wallet means generating a new address to send, receive, or store XRP.
The amount of XRP burned in transaction fees dropped by 30.89%. In XRPL, each transaction includes a small fee paid in XRP and is permanently removed, or “burned,” to prevent spam on the network.
Decentralized exchange (DEX) volume on the XRP Ledger also fell. A DEX allows users to trade cryptocurrencies directly without using a centralized platform. Volume dropped by 16.94%, from $1 billion in Q4 2024 to $832 million in Q1 2025.
DefiLlama reported that XRPL’s total value locked (TVL) remained flat at about $80 million. TVL represents the total assets held in DeFi applications on a blockchain. Monthly DEX volume stayed near $3.3 million during Q1 2025, which is relatively low for a network with XRP’s market ranking.
Ripple Acquires Hidden Road for $1.25 Billion
Ripple announced a major acquisition in Q1 2025. The company bought Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. Hidden Road is a financial services firm that provides institutional access to digital assets.
Ripple stated in the report,
“Ripple acquired Hidden Road for $1.25B — one of the largest M&A deals in crypto history – driving more institutional use cases for RLUSD and XRPL.”
RLUSD is Ripple’s stablecoin, used for settlements on the XRP Ledger. It emerged as one driver of on-chain activity with its market cap surpassing $90M and cumulative DEX volume exceeding $300M.
The acquisition could expand Ripple’s presence in institutional finance. However, the report did not give projections or timelines for how this would impact XRPL activity.
XRP Forms Falling Wedge, Chart Signals Possible 100% Breakout
As of May 6, 2025, XRP has formed a falling wedge pattern on the daily chart. This structure appears when the price creates lower highs and lower lows inside two converging downward-sloping trendlines. A falling wedge often signals a potential reversal to the upside after a downtrend.
On the current chart, the wedge began forming after XRP’s late November 2024 rally. Since then, the price has tightened within the range. Volume has decreased, which is typical during wedge formation. The 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) is visible near the upper trendline, now acting as resistance.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI), a momentum indicator, currently sits near 52.86. It is neither in overbought nor oversold territory, suggesting a neutral short-term bias. The RSI earlier dipped to 43.88 but has since rebounded, indicating slight improvement in buying momentum.
According to the pattern’s height—from the breakout point to the top of the wedge—the projected target reaches around $4.11. This represents a possible 100% increase from the breakout area, if confirmed. Such targets are measured by applying the wedge height to the breakout level, a common method in technical analysis.
This breakout level aligns with historical resistance zones from December 2024. Traders typically watch for a strong daily candle closing above the wedge’s upper trendline with high volume before confirming the move.
