Ripple Reports Surge in XRP Transaction Volume and Institutional Interest Amid Ongoing SEC Legal Battle

Ripple saw impressive growth in the third quarter. The company reported a rise in transaction volume on the XRP Ledger and an increase in institutional interest in its XRP token. This progress comes as Ripple continues its legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

There’s been a noticeable uptick in institutional interest in XRP. This shift is partly due to the SEC's diminishing credibility in the crypto space. Major financial players, like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), rolled out new XRP offerings during the quarter. CME introduced an XRP reference price, while Bitnomial announced plans for an XRP futures product.

Additionally, well-known firms such as Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares have filed to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on XRP. Grayscale also launched an XRP Trust and is working to convert its Digital Large Cap Fund, which includes BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and AVAX, into an ETF.

Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, highlighted that these ETF filings show strong institutional demand for XRP products. He pointed out that the SEC's ongoing regulatory challenges have weakened its authority, further reducing its influence in the industry.

Garlinghouse stated, “The message from the market is clear — institutional interest in XRP products is stronger than ever. The SEC’s war on crypto has lost battle after battle. Their continued disregard for the court’s authority will further erode the SEC’s credibility and reputation.”

The rise in institutional interest has led to increased XRP trading volumes. Average daily volumes on major exchanges ranged between $600 million and $700 million, with a 27% increase in the XRP/BTC ratio over the quarter. Ripple noted that trading on Binance, Bybit, and Upbit averaged around $750 million in early Q3 before stabilizing mid-quarter and rising again toward the end of September.

Moreover, the XRP Ledger network nearly doubled its transaction volume during this period. The total transactions jumped from 86.4 million in Q2 to 172.6 million in Q3 2024. Ripple explained that this surge was mainly due to microtransactions, often less than 1 XRP each, likely part of a spam campaign.

Ripple clarified, “Despite the increase in activity, much of it involved small-volume transactions. So total on-chain volume did not see a significant rise. The uptick was primarily driven by microtransactions (<1 XRP), which appeared to be part of a spam messaging campaign.”

Additionally, the Total Value Locked (TVL) in Ripple’s Automated Market Makers (AMMs) more than doubled, rising from $8.5 million to $16.2 million. On the other hand, average transaction costs on the network dropped. Fees decreased by 32%, from 0.00394 XRP to 0.00269 XRP per transaction.