Despite the grim sentiment dominating the crypto market, some networks are currently seeing significant activity. One such example is the XRP Ledger (XRPL), which recently set a new record for network velocity.
An analysis by CryptoQuant found that the XRPL saw a surge in on-chain activity, leading to a new high in velocity.
XRPL Breaks Network Velocity Record
The velocity metric measures the frequency of XRP circulation across the network. The indicator shows the state of economic activity and on-chain transactions during the specified period.
On December 2, the metric suddenly spiked to a new high of 0.0324. The last time the velocity rallied close to this level was in September 2025. Such upticks in the velocity metric indicate that XRP is changing hands among investors, rather than remaining dormant in cold wallets.
“Such a surge typically signifies high liquidity and substantial involvement from traders or significant movements by whales. Regardless of market direction, this data confirms that the network is experiencing one of its most active periods in 2025, with user engagement reaching a peak,” CryptoQuant stated.
Rising On-chain Activity
A recent report substantiates CryptoQuant’s analysis – large XRP holders have been moving their assets. The XRPL has seen mixed shifts among investors, with contrasting movements in wallet numbers and balances. The cohort of wallets holding at least 100 million XRP has shrunk by 20.6% over the past eight weeks, signifying the exit of 569 large wallets.
Amid the shrinking large wallet count, whale holdings have been on the rise. The remaining 100M+ wallets currently hold more than 48 billion XRP, a seven-year high. This indicates that other large holders who did not exit the 100M group accumulated more XRP. In fact, this accumulation trend began in 2023 and has progressed over the last two years regardless of market conditions.
Meanwhile, a separate group of XRP holders has begun reducing their holdings. Between December 2 and 3, wallets holding 1 million to 10 million tokens moved or sold 150 million XRP. This group of investors has been selling their holdings in waves over the past few months, so their movement has become part of a broader pattern. These developments come as the United States spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETF) market continues to attract significant inflows compared to their Bitcoin and Ethereum counterparts.