Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL) experienced a substantial 30-40% decline in on-chain activity during Q1 2025, with institutional participants increasingly opting for off-chain transactions despite the company’s claims of widespread banking partnerships. The shift raises transparency concerns around institutional adoption and network utilization.
CTO David Schwartz acknowledged sluggish institutional uptake of on-chain XRPL transactions, citing a preference for off-ledger solutions among financial entities. This aligns with XRPL’s modest decentralized finance footprint, which maintained approximately $81.8 million in total value locked (TVL) since mid-2024, dominated by off-chain institutional engagements.
The reported on-chain contraction reflects industry-wide blockchain activity trends, though Ripple’s final XRP Markets Report cited only a 16% quarterly reduction in DeFi volumes. Concurrently, Ripple announced the sunset of its quarterly Markets Report format effective Q2 2025, pledging to overhaul transparency frameworks and reporting methodologies.
Ripple emphasized the strategic significance of off-chain institutional activity and committed to delivering enhanced data clarity regarding XRP’s function within global financial systems moving forward.