2 weeks ago
Despite a beardown commencement to 2026, XRP closed Q1 astatine $1.34, representing a 27.1% quarter-over-quarter decline. Cumulatively, 14.3 cardinal XRP has been burned since inception—a debased pain complaint that Messari attributes to the XRPL’s inherently debased fees.
Key Takeaways
- XRP fell 27.1% to $1.34 successful Q1 2026, losing its presumption arsenic the No. 4 integer plus to BNB.
- U.S. spot XRP ETFs deed $1 cardinal AUM successful 4 weeks, driven by firm and organization adoption.
- XRPL deed an all-time precocious of $2.25 cardinal RWA marketplace cap, positioning the web for aboriginal ecosystem growth.
Transaction Fees and Network Deflation
After a promising commencement to 2026, XRP closed the archetypal 4th astatine $1.34, a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) diminution of 27.1%. Consequently, XRP—whose circulating proviso accrued 1.1% to 61.34 billion—ended the 4th with an $82.21 cardinal marketplace capitalization, efficaciously relinquishing its presumption arsenic the No. 4 integer plus to BNB.
According to the latest Messari report, XRP closed the 4th somewhat underperforming the combined marketplace capitalization of the 3 non- stablecoin crypto assets with higher marketplace caps: bitcoin ( BTC), ethereum ( ETH), and BNB, which combined decreased 23.3% QoQ. While the archetypal fractional of May saw XRP reclaim $1.50, the rebound was fleeting; the cryptocurrency mislaid astir each its gains by May 31, leaving its market cap virtually unchanged.
In summation to the market cap decline, the integer plus experienced a notable driblet successful transaction fees, which plunged astir 40% QoQ.
“Transaction fees (USD) declined 39.3% QoQ from $133,100 to $80,710, portion autochthonal transaction fees declined 12% QoQ from 57,600 XRP to 50,750 XRP. On XRPL, transaction fees are systematically burned, applying deflationary unit to XRP’s permanently capped 100 cardinal full supply,” the Messari study noted.
Since the XRP Ledger’s inception, astir 14.3 cardinal XRP—or $19.2 cardinal astatine the adjacent of the archetypal 4th of 2026—had been burned. Messari attributed this comparatively debased pain complaint to the protocol’s debased transaction fees.
XRP recovered a agleam spot successful different metrics, however, peculiarly with inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Launched successful the last 4th of 2025, XRP ETFs reached the $1 cardinal assets nether absorption (AUM) milestone successful conscionable 4 weeks.
“U.S. spot XRP ETFs closed Q1 2026 holding 775.4 cardinal XRP (1.26% of the circulating supply), up 1.9% QoQ, with XRP held peaking astatine 810.2 cardinal XRP connected March 3, 2026,” the study states.
Canary Capital’s XRPC led U.S. spot ETFs, ending the 4th with 197.1 cardinal XRP. Bitwise’s XRP followed intimately astatine 194.9 million, portion Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ held 159.7 cardinal and 21Shares’ TOXR held 105.8 million. Beyond ETFs, organization investors snapped up the plus by adopting the integer plus treasury (DAT) strategy popularized by Strategy. Among them, firm holder Evernorth held 388 cardinal XRP tokens purchased astatine an mean terms of $2.44, making it the largest organization holder.
Meanwhile, Ripple’s USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, closed the archetypal 4th of 2026 with a market cap of $340.3 cardinal connected the XRPL, a 45% leap QoQ that made it the network’s largest stablecoin. Additionally, the XRPL closed the 4th with an all-time precocious real-world plus ( RWA) market cap of $2.25 billion, making it the seventh-largest web by RWA market cap.
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