NFTs Drive Ripple’s XRPL to New Heights in Q1 2023

Network activity on Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL) rose to new highs during the first quarter and was majorly driven by non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to its Q1 market report.

According to the report, over 1 million NFTs have been minted on the Ledger since the network-enabled support for these digital assets in November 2022.

NFT Trading Gains Popularity on XRPL

The Managing Director of SBI VC Trade, Tomohiko Kondo, corroborated this, adding that the Ledger was among the top 10 chains for NFT volume and transactions.

For context, 3zy data shows over 2000 NFT collections on XRPL with a cumulative volume of over 22 million. The data further indicates that the top collections on the network include XPUNKS, Bored Apes, XRP Clubs, XPECTAR, etc. 

Bithomp data further corroborated 3zy’s data.

XRPL Transactions and DEX Volume Increases

Per the report, transactions on XRPL increased by 9% to 116 million during the first quarter, while decentralized exchange volumes rose 34% to $115 million.

Meanwhile, traders on the network burnt 140,900 units of the asset in transaction fees, while the average transaction fees on the network remain negligible at 0.00121XRP.

The average daily volume of XRP on centralized exchanges increased by 46% between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 Q1, to $1 billion from $698 million.

Ripple Sold More XRP Than It Bought in Q1

According to the report, Ripple purchased around $2.6 billion of the XRP coin during the first quarter. However, the company also reported selling $2.93 billion XRP to its customers using its “On-Demand Liquidity” (ODL) payment system.

This means the company recorded a positive net sale of $361.06 million, up from $226.31 million in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the crypto company stopped XRP’s purchases for several days due to the U.S. banking crisis in March. It added that the buying activity has since resumed, and the company expects to continue making purchases as ODL adoption grows.

Ripple Expects Summary Judgment on SEC Case in 2023

While Ripple continues to thrive, the SEC case against the company remains unresolved with no specific determination date. The Court issued a 57-page opinion on March 6 that struck out SEC’s expert testimony about the reasonable expectations of XRP buyers.

The crypto payment company expects the Court to issue its summary judgment before the end of 2023.