XRP Settles $159.9 Billion in First Half of 2026

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The XRP Ledger (XRPL) settled $159.9 billion in transactions during the first half of 2026, a new study from asset manager 21Shares found.

The development highlights substantial network activity even as blockchain fees plunged 81.6% year over year.

In its report, 21Shares said XRPL fees declined from $6.43 million in the first half of 2025 to just $1.18 million in H1 2026. At the same time, the network’s stablecoin base expanded by 1,131%.

XRPL Transaction Fees Plunge

Notably, revenue fell mainly because activity dropped in two areas: AMM swap fees and NFT royalties. AMM fees on XRPL fell 80.3% from a year earlier, while NFT royalties dropped 69%. Together, they made up about 89% of the ledger’s total revenue.

Regular transaction fees users pay when they send XRP also fell 66.3%, from $269,600 to $90,800. However, the decline has a smaller impact on XRP holders than the revenue figures suggest.

Most XRPL fees are burned rather than paid to validators. Only regular transaction fees, account closure fees and voluntary overpayments reduce XRP’s supply.

According to 21Shares, only 10.6% of the $1.18 million generated in the first half of 2026 benefited XRP holders through the burn mechanism.

RLUSD Supply Surges 1,131%

While XRPL’s revenue fell, its stablecoin activity grew quickly. Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin reached a total supply of $1.56 billion by June 30. About 52% of that supply was held on XRPL, up from just 10% a year earlier.

This growing stablecoin supply provides the liquidity for decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenized real-world assets on XRPL. Institutional use is also growing.

In July, Aviva Investors added a share class of its USD Liquidity Fund to XRPL. It joined institutions such as abrdn, Ondo and Société Générale, which have also brought tokenized financial products and stablecoins to the network.

XRP Supply Growth Remains a Challenge

Even though XRP has lower supply growth than some other crypto payment networks, 21Shares said rising supply is still a challenge for holders.

XRP’s circulating supply grew 5.5% in the first half of 2026, compared with 8.8% for Stellar and 9.6% for TON.

At current fee levels, XRP holders face a 5.5% annual impact from this supply growth. 21Shares said fees alone cannot offset the dilution, so XRP needs more demand and adoption.

XRP as Collateral is the Missing Catalyst

Meanwhile, 21Shares said the next big boost for XRP will come from institutions using XRP as collateral for loans or trades.

A new lending framework, XLS-65/66, seeks to allow tokenized assets to be used as collateral on XRPL. However, loans could still use RLUSD or tokenized Treasuries instead of XRP.

So far, regulated institutions have not widely accepted XRP as collateral. 21Shares said XRPL is at a turning point: transaction activity is strong, stablecoin supply is growing, and more institutions are joining the network, but these developments have not yet created clear demand for XRP itself.