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Surge in Demand for Ripple’s XRP in the U.S. Market
The interest in Ripple’s XRP has skyrocketed in the United States, reaching its peak in the last four years, reminiscent of levels seen prior to the 2020 allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that classified the token as a security. Recent data from Kaiko indicates that XRP’s trading volume on American centralized exchanges has surged to 14% of the global XRP trading volume, a significant increase from under 2% just one year ago. This resurgence reflects a return to the status of XRP as one of the top three digital currencies by market capitalization prior to the SEC’s lawsuit.
Impact of Legal Proceedings on XRP Interest
During the extensive legal skirmish with the SEC, XRP experienced a notable drop in interest, resulting in several cryptocurrency platforms removing it from their listings. However, the landscape began to shift last year when Ripple achieved a favorable ruling, which determined that XRP sales on secondary markets were not classified as securities transactions. Following this decision, prominent U.S. exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini reinstated XRP, which subsequently sparked a significant demand from traders across the nation.
Quarterly Insights on XRP Trading Volume
Ripple’s latest quarterly report has highlighted a robust level of interest in the XRP token. The firm reported that XRP’s spot trading volume ranked among the top three within the digital asset industry during the second quarter. They noted, “XRP trading volumes remained strong throughout the first half of the quarter… The latter half of Q2 sustained consistently high trading volumes across major exchanges.”
Speculative Factors Driving XRP’s Performance
The heightened interest in XRP is not surprising, particularly in light of ongoing speculation surrounding a potential settlement with the SEC. In the previous month, XRP emerged as the best-performing asset among the top ten digital currencies, achieving a remarkable 35% increase in value, outpacing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Decline in XRP Ledger Transaction Volume
Contrasting the surge in XRP’s trading volume, the Ripple XRP Ledger (XRPL) network saw a substantial decrease in transaction activity during the second quarter, with transactions plummeting to 86.39 million—a decrease of 65.6% compared to the previous quarter. Ripple attributed this downturn to a wider trend impacting major blockchain protocols, with the XRPL reflecting this similar decline. Additionally, average transaction fees on the network rose significantly by 168%, reaching 0.00394 XRP during this period.
Future Outlook for the XRP Ledger
Despite the drop in transaction volume, Ripple maintains a positive outlook for the XRPL’s future. The firm expects an increase in network activity spurred by new features, including the XRPL Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain, Axelar interoperability, and the introduction of the Oracle and Multi-Purpose Token (MPT) standard. Furthermore, Ripple anticipates that the launch of tokenized real asset platforms like OpenEden and the forthcoming Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin will further propel growth within the blockchain ecosystem.
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