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One of the most intriguing on-chain moves of the last few weeks was recently reported by XRPScan: an abrupt 30% increase in daily payments, which pushed the network to more than 1,050,000 transactions in a single day. This raises the question of who is moving this much value and why, as it represents an increase of about 200,000 payments over the previous day.
Payments spike
First, it is important to recognize that this spike did not occur during a significant price breakout. On the daily chart, XRP is still stuck inside a clear descending channel, with lower highs and lower lows defining the trend. The price fluctuated between $2.19 and $2.22, signaling hesitancy rather than conviction. The moving averages, particularly the 50-, 100- and 200-day, continue to slope downward, confirming the broader bearish structure, and volume remains muted.
What does a sudden increase in payments mean when the price does not react? Large spikes in the number of payments on XRP Ledger have historically been driven by two kinds of activity: automated or institutional systems rebalancing liquidity routes, and bursts of retail-level activity tied to payment rails or bot systems testing throughput.
The most recent spike appears more like institutional routing or automated activity than natural investor engagement, given the lack of market impact. Neither spot volume nor futures positioning has increased in parallel. Funding rates are somewhat bullish, but there has not been enough growth in open interest to suggest aggressive speculation.
From a market perspective, this matters because it shows that XRP’s underlying network continues to see real usage despite the price’s lack of direction. However, on its own, it does not signal a reversal. Until XRP can reclaim at least $2.33 and then break the downward trendline around $2.45, $2.50, the chart remains structurally bearish.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team