XRP Ledger Sees May Slowdown—But Wall Street Whales Are Circling

Transaction volume on the XRP Ledger took a hit last month—just as institutional players started sniffing around. Classic crypto irony: retail taps the brakes while the suits ’strategically position.’

Behind the dip: A mix of market jitters and that age-old crypto tradition of price-action paralysis. Meanwhile, hedge funds and family offices are suddenly all over distributed ledger tech like bankers at a free-lunch blockchain summit.

The takeaway? When the big money moves in, they prefer to do it quietly. Retail traders panic-sell the dip; institutions file SEC paperwork and call it ’asset diversification.’

However, this growth did not translate into deeper engagement. Analysts suggest the rise may include automated wallets, as the average activity per user remained relatively low.

dApps usage

Further breakdowns from XPMarket data reveal a concerning trend in decentralized application (dApp) engagement.

XPMarket reported that only about 10% of active wallets, roughly 28,000, interacted with dApps during the month, and most of these users engaged with just one application.

A smaller group of 3,782 wallets interacted with two dApps, while only 968 engaged with three. The number of ultra-users, defined as wallets interacting with more than three dApps, increased slightly to 293.

The imbalance between wallet growth and dApp engagement hints at automation playing a bigger role in XRPL activity. It also illustrates XRPL’s challenge in fostering long-term, human-centric user adoption.

This pattern reflects a maturing yet challenged ecosystem, where user acquisition is rising, but sustained interaction lags behind. The trend indicates that while the XRPL is gaining visibility, meaningful utility beyond basic transactions remains limited for many users.

NFT and AMM activity gains momentum

However, non-fungible token (NFT) and automated market Maker (AMM) activity tell a more optimistic story.

According to XPMarket, NFT minting soared from 1.76 million in April to 2.56 million in May, showing growing interest in digital asset creation.

This uptick came alongside increased cancellations and burns, a common trend in fast-paced NFT ecosystems.

At the same time, AMM activity also grew, with more users adding and withdrawing liquidity during the period.

XPMarket remains the dominant platform for the ledger’s NFT and AMM activity, reflecting its role as a key enabler of user participation in these areas.

Institutional adoption

These numbers come as institutional adoption of the blockchain network is gaining traction.

In May, at least three stablecoin products, including EURØP, USDB, and XSGD, were introduced into the XRPL ecosystem.

In addition, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) also selected XRPL to power its real estate tokenization platform, highlighting rising confidence in the network’s infrastructure.

Market observers say XRPL’s low transaction fees, fast settlement times, and regulatory alignment make it a strong option for both traditional institutions exploring blockchain-based settlement solutions.