XRP fell 22% during the second quarter even as the value of tokenized real-world assets on the XRP Ledger surged 102.5% to $4.46 billion, a divergence that is raising questions about whether the token's price reflects the network's underlying growth. Stablecoin supply on the ledger rose even faster, up 195.4% to $825.5 million, while XRP-linked exchange-traded products pulled in $253.6 million of inflows over the same period.
The disconnect is sharper when set against usage metrics. Total payment volume on the network declined 26.6% quarter over quarter even as the asset side of the ledger expanded, suggesting the RWA and stablecoin growth is not yet translating into broader transactional demand. Average transaction cost on the ledger remains a fraction of a cent, at roughly $0.00024, underscoring that cost isn't the barrier holding back volume.
RLUSD Now Dominates the Ledger's Tokenized Assets
Ripple's own stablecoin, RLUSD, has become the dominant force behind the XRP Ledger's tokenization numbers. Supply has climbed past $880 million in the third quarter, up roughly 40% from Q2, and RLUSD now accounts for 62% of tokenized assets on the ledger. Data from RWA.xyz, which tracks on-chain tokenization activity used by institutions including the DTCC and Fidelity, shows the ledger's broader represented-asset value has continued climbing through the third quarter alongside the stablecoin growth.
Despite that, transaction counts have fallen off sharply: the ledger processed roughly 87 million transactions so far in Q3, down from 222 million in Q2, while XRP itself has slipped 3.7% this quarter to a quarter-low of $0.98.
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What Analysts Expect From Here
XRP is currently defending a support zone between $0.95 and $0.98, with resistance building near $1.12 to $1.15. Broader forecasting models put the most likely trading range by the end of the third quarter at $1.25 to $1.45, with roughly even odds assigned to XRP staying range-bound between $0.85 and $1.45 rather than breaking decisively in either direction. Spot XRP ETFs have still managed to draw more than $1.4 billion in cumulative inflows during 2026, a sign that institutional positioning hasn't matched the pullback in retail-facing price action.
A Repeat of Q2's Pattern?
The current setup mirrors the divergence that defined the second quarter, when robust on-chain growth failed to prevent a double-digit price decline. If tokenization and stablecoin issuance continue to expand while payment volume and active usage lag behind, XRP risks closing a second consecutive quarter in the red even as the metrics its supporters point to keep climbing.
