David Schwartz Opens His Wallet: XRP Ledger Gets Major Boost Amid Surging Network Activity

Ripple's CTO just became the XRPL's angel investor.

As transaction volumes hit record highs, David Schwartz personally bankrolled critical infrastructure upgrades—proving crypto's elite still put skin in the game (when they're not dumping bags).

The move comes as the XRP Ledger processes 3x its typical load, with developers scrambling to keep pace with demand. Schwartz's cash injection funds new validator nodes and optimized transaction routing—the blockchain equivalent of adding lanes to a congested highway.

Meanwhile, TradFi bankers still think 'gas fees' refer to their Porsche fill-ups.

Ledger Activity Hits New Highs

The infrastructure boost comes at a time of record engagement across the XRP Ledger. More than 70 million transactions were recorded in July alone, pushing the ledger’s all-time total close to 3.83 billion. Onboarding continues at pace, with over 1 million new XRPL accounts created this year and an average of 3,000 new wallets per day.

DeFi and Cross-Chain Growth Accelerate

July also marked a surge in on-chain DeFi activity. Volume on XRPL’s automated market makers climbed 17% to 408 million XRP, while decentralized exchange traffic jumped 21% to 465 million XRP. Cross-chain integrations are expanding, too—over $165 million in assets moved via Axelar to EVM-compatible chains.

Stablecoin adoption is gaining traction as well. Brazilian digital bank BrazaBank’s BBRL stablecoin crossed $4.2 million in circulation, making it the second-largest fiat-backed asset on the XRP Ledger.

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Smart Contract Development on the Rise

Momentum also surrounds XRPL’s recently launched ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible sidechain, which went live at the end of June. In just its first week, it attracted over 1,400 smart contracts, combining Ethereum-style programmability with XRPL’s low-fee, fast-settlement infrastructure.

Looking Ahead

With ecosystem metrics climbing and Schwartz’s infrastructure initiative reinforcing the Core network, XRP Ledger appears to be entering a pivotal growth phase. These parallel developments—both technical and community-led—position XRPL to accommodate higher transaction throughput and a wider range of decentralized applications in the months ahead.

Kosta Gushterov

Kosta has been working in the crypto industry for over 4 years. He strives to present different perspectives on a given topic and enjoys the sector for its transparency and dynamism. In his work, he focuses on balanced coverage of events and developments in the crypto space, providing information to his readers from a neutral perspective.

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