The number of weekly payments on the XRP Ledger has risen by an incredible 430% from 1.5 million in 2023 to over 8 million in 2025, according to statistics from Dune Analytics. On July 1 alone, nearly 1 million payments were recorded out of a total of 1.53 million transactions.
The XRPL’s main selling point—allowing quick, inexpensive international payments using XRP as a bridge currency—is highlighted by this notable increase. A major catalyst behind this institutional growth is Ripple’s expanding presence, especially in the Middle East, through its Ripple Payments platform.
Although payments remain the dominant use case, XRPL’s decentralized exchange (DEX) and emerging DeFi capabilities are also gaining traction. The network currently supports over 20,000 active AMM pools, with around 2,300 daily DEX users trading a wide range of XRP-based pairs. While it still lags behind larger smart contract ecosystems like Ethereum and Solana, XRPL is evolving steadily—adding more than 2,800 new accounts in a single day and maintaining over 2 million daily transactions, a massive leap from the 50,000 daily average seen in 2013.
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That momentum may gain further traction with the introduction of an EVM-compatible sidechain, enabling Ethereum-based dApps to function seamlessly on the XRPL. Despite this expansion, payments are likely to remain the network’s primary utility.
At the same time, Ripple’s prolonged legal battle with the U.S. SEC appears to be nearing resolution. In late June, the company withdrew its cross-appeal, signaling a readiness to conclude the case—even if that requires accepting stricter settlement terms. CEO Brad Garlinghouse reaffirmed the company’s pivot from litigation toward accelerating growth.
As regulatory uncertainty begins to clear, analysts and industry observers anticipate a resurgence in institutional interest in XRP, potentially laying the groundwork for a future ETF offering.
