XRP has climbed back toward $1 after touching $0.98 this week, even as network activity hits a multi-month high and whale deposits to Binance collapse. Yet spot demand, measured through ETF inflows, keeps shrinking, leaving the token without the capital that could help sustain a recovery.
Network activity outruns price
XRP fell to about $0.98 this week before recovering toward $1, even as the XRP Ledger logged 49,929 active addresses in a 24-hour period this week. That is the highest reading in more than two months and about 3% above the 48,453 addresses recorded in May, when XRP traded above $1.54. The token now sits roughly 35% below that May high.
Stablecoin activity on the ledger has broadened too. Holders climbed 37% over the past month to about 82,100 from roughly 60,000, while transfer volume rose 8.4% to $4.61 billion. However, stablecoin market capitalization on XRPL still fell 6.8% to $906.8 million over the same stretch.
Tokenized real-world assets show a similar split: holders rose 29% to 217, but 30-day transfer volume fell almost 27% to $242.35 million.
Whale deposits fade as leverage builds
Large holders are sending far less XRP to exchanges. The three-month average of whale inflows to Binance has fallen to about $61 million, its lowest level since 2021, according to CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost. That measure stood near $456 million in January 2025 and $355 million in October 2025. Net flows remain positive at about $18.8 million, so whale inflows still exceed outflows.
Meanwhile, derivatives positioning has moved higher. Bybit's 30-day change in XRP open interest reached 54 million XRP on Aug. 12, almost matching the 54.5 million increase seen on May 21, while Binance added another 29.5 million XRP over the latest 30-day period.
ETF demand keeps slowing
The clearest gap is fresh spot demand. XRP ETFs drew $131.94 million in May, when the token traded above $1.54, before monthly inflows fell to about $59.46 million in June and $27.29 million in July. Data from SoSoValue shows the products drew only about $3.27 million through the first half of August.
Cumulative ETF demand still stands at roughly $1.51 billion since launch, with about $942 million in net assets as of Aug. 13. A stronger return of spot capital would meet a market with broader network participation and lighter exchange-side pressure, which could generate the demand needed to sustain a recovery.
Source: CryptoSlate
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