XRP Ledger Sees Fewer Traders but Higher Trading Volumes in Q2 2026
The XRP Ledger saw a striking trend in the second quarter of 2026: while the number of active traders dropped significantly, the volume of XRP traded surged. Daily accounts initiating trades fell by about 40%, from 1,864 in Q2 2025 to 1,111 in Q2 2026. Despite this decline, the average order-book volume jumped 79% year over year, rising from 1.99 million XRP to 3.57 million XRP per day.
The data suggests that the remaining active accounts were trading much larger amounts of XRP. The average active account traded nearly three times as much XRP as a year earlier, moving from 1,072 XRP per day to 3,217 XRP. Order-book activity also accounted for 81% of the XRP Ledger’s decentralized exchange volume, up from 54% a year earlier.
This shift aligns with a broader move toward higher-value transactions on the XRP Ledger. The network has seen rapid growth in tokenized Treasuries and institutional financial products using the network for settlement and liquidity. However, the data does not confirm whether institutions are replacing retail traders, as one institution could control multiple accounts, or one individual could use several addresses.
Additionally, the value held on the XRP Ledger increased substantially. Tokenized assets averaged approximately $3.72 billion during Q2 2026, over 30 times their level a year earlier. Average RLUSD balances reached $539 million, up from $73 million, bringing the combined value held on the ledger to roughly $4.26 billion. Despite this growth, participation weakened, with daily transacting accounts falling about 24% year over year to 16,600, and new accounts dropping roughly 25% to 2,800 per day.
The key takeaway is that liquidity on the XRP Ledger is becoming concentrated among fewer, larger accounts while significantly more financial value sits on the network. This shift reflects the ledger's evolution from a payments-focused blockchain to infrastructure supporting institutional assets, stablecoins, and tokenized securities.