XRP Ledger daily traders fall 40%, but volume soars 79% in Q2 2026

Decline in retail participation

Daily trading accounts on the XRP Ledger’s order book dropped from 1,864 in Q2 2025 to 1,111 in the same period in 2026, marking a 40% decline year over year. This trend signals a reduction in the number of individual traders actively participating in the market.

Despite the sharp fall in active accounts, the average volume traded per account rose steeply. Active participants averaged 3,217 XRP in daily trades per account, up from 1,072 XRP per account a year earlier. This shift suggests that remaining traders are executing significantly larger transactions.

Liquidity concentration and order book dominance

Order-book trades made up 81% of the decentralized exchange (DEX) volume on the XRP Ledger, compared to just 54% in Q2 2025. Overall DEX activity saw an average daily volume of 4.42 million XRP, representing a 20% increase from the previous year. However, this figure also reflected a 16% decrease compared with Q1 2026, noted as an exceptionally strong quarter for volume on the network.

The report highlighted a structural change: a pronounced move toward higher-value trades conducted by a smaller group of active accounts, leading to greater liquidity concentration within the network.

Average order-book activity per participating account rose from 1,072 XRP per day to 3,217 XRP, meaning the average active account traded roughly three times as much as a year earlier.

While institutional products are increasingly leveraging the XRP Ledger, it remains unclear if large institutions are directly replacing smaller retail traders. Multiple accounts could be controlled by a single entity, and individuals may also use several addresses, making precise attribution challenging.

Mini dictionary: Evernorth is an analytics and market intelligence firm specializing in blockchain and digital asset markets, known for its in-depth reporting on on-chain liquidity and trading trends.

Surge in on-chain asset value

Tokenized assets on XRPL averaged around $3.72 billion in Q2 2026, more than 30 times higher than during the same quarter a year ago. RLUSD, a stablecoin used across various financial products, saw its average balances climb to $539 million from $73 million previously. Together, these assets lifted the total combined value on XRPL to approximately $4.26 billion.

This substantial growth reflects broader adoption of real-world asset tokenization and stablecoin utilization on the ledger, aligning with global trends in digital finance.

New accounts and broader network developments

Despite the surge in on-chain value, network participation metrics showed declines. The number of daily transacting accounts dropped 24% year over year to 16,600, while new accounts registered fell 25% to 2,800 per day.

Instead, liquidity is becoming concentrated among fewer, larger accounts while substantially more financial value sits on the network.

Analysts suggested that these changes signal XRPL’s evolution beyond its original role as a retail payment network. As the ledger expands its infrastructure for institutional assets, stablecoins, and tokenized securities, the profile of its user base and transaction patterns continue to shift.