Mon Jan 27 07:50:00 UTC 2025: **XRP Surges to Fourth Largest Cryptocurrency, Fueled by ETF Applications and Institutional Adoption**

**New York, NY – January 28, 2025** – XRP concluded Q4 2024 as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, reaching a valuation of $119.5 billion, a remarkable 246% increase over the previous quarter. This growth significantly outpaced the combined gains of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, according to Messari. The price surge, up 241% QoQ, was slightly tempered by a 1.6% increase in circulating supply.

The dramatic rise is attributed to several factors, including increased institutional interest. WisdomTree, alongside Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares, filed for XRP ETFs, and Robinhood and Grayscale added XRP trading options, signaling growing institutional confidence.

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) also experienced significant growth. Network activity hit record levels, with new addresses soaring 382% QoQ to 507,000, and active addresses increasing by 99% to 56,000. A reduction in the account reserve requirement from 10 XRP to 1 XRP further lowered barriers to entry. While payment transactions dipped slightly, average daily transactions rose 3% to 1.8 million.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) sectors on XRPL flourished. The market capitalization of network-issued tokens jumped 176% QoQ to $264 million, driven by memecoins and decentralized exchanges (DEXs). NFT activity exploded, with a 460% increase in total transactions, largely due to minting and burning activity under the XLS-20 standard, surpassing 7.5 million NFTs. Ripple’s new USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, also contributed to increased liquidity.

The XRPL’s deflationary mechanism, which burns transaction fees, further contributed to its growth. Approximately 13.3 million XRP ($27.8 million) has been burned since the network’s inception, although this is offset by the regular release of escrowed tokens.

Read More