The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has just experienced one of its biggest drops of the year, as on-chain data shows that activity on the Ripple blockchain has dropped by 99%. While this may seem like a big flag, the fall has yet to make a significant impact the price of XRPsuggesting that the situation may not be as alarming as it seems.
Overview of Ripple’s XRP Ledger 99% Down
Over the weekend, XRP Ledger transaction activity plummeted, dropping approximately 99% within 48 hours. On closer inspection, the decline appears to be primarily due to time rather than greater technical problem in the general ledger. Usually, cryptocurrency transaction volumes decrease during the weekend. This is because many institutional traders and market makers reduce their trading or stop altogether on weekends, leading to reduced liquidity and lower payment volumes on the ledger.
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First of all, the data in the chain from XRPScans discovered that the volume of XRPL payments between accounts fell from over 1.09 billion on Thursday, January 8, to 166.99 million on Saturday. This represents massive drop in network usageshowing how much activity can decrease over the weekend. Payout volume has also yet to recover, falling further to around 137.40 million as of January 11.
In addition to the drop in volume, the number of transactions executed on the XRP Ledger during that time frame also decreased. XRPScans showed that transactions have fallen from over 2 million on Thursday to 1.8 million on Saturday. This drop in both volume and throughput shows that even small reductions in participation from large accounts or institutional users can have a significant impact on network metrics.
It is worth noting that The price of XRP is still above $2 and remains somewhat unaffected by the recent decline in network activity. While data from CoinMarketCap shows its value has fallen by more than 4% over the past week, there is no clear evidence linking this to the recent 99% drop in the ledger.
Interestingly, just a few days before the crash, the XRP Ledger recorded a big one increase in whale transactionseach valued at $100,000 or more. This suggests that, despite temporary network fluctuations, the XRP network continues to experience significant activity and engagement from major holders.
XRPL Developer shares a new update for Ledger
Vet, XRPL dUNL validator and developer, has divided a new update to the XRP Ledger, revealing that a large series repairs and additionss is now approaching its activation timer. This marks a critical step for the blockchain network, promising to improve functionality and security for developers and users.
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Vet stated that the upcoming changes cover several important features, including TokenEscrow, AMMClawback, Multipurpose Tokens (MPT), and Price Oracle. He emphasized that the XRP development team remains committed to maintaining the ledger at the highest level. He added that the team is also working diligently to ensure that all features work smoothly, regardless of the current market price of XRP.
Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
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