In recent weeks, XRP Ledger has seen a sharp increase in activity, with on-chain metrics indicating that transaction counts and payment volumes have quickly increased by almost 20%.
Investors are currently awaiting the Feb. 8 results of XRP ETF trading and its impact on price dynamics and overall market sentiment, so this spike comes at a critical time for XRP markets.
Moving in darkness
Cryptocurrency markets have historically been significantly impacted by ETF-related flows; for instance, Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of almost $500 million during a time of increased market stress, which drove the market as a whole lower and put significant downward pressure on BTC.
Investors in XRP are now unsure whether a similar situation might occur or if XRP will act differently. According to the current market structure, XRP might escape a disastrous sell-off, driven by ETFs like the one that recently occurred with Bitcoin. Despite its weakness, the price action has not completely crashed, and there is still some buying activity near important support zones.
XRP Ledger activity grows
On the other hand, on-chain activity presents a more nuanced picture. There is a massive network transaction flow indicated by the spike in XRP Ledger usage. While increased activity may occasionally be a sign of expanding adoption or rekindled investor interest, it can also be a sign of increased token movement toward exchanges.
XRP is at a turning point as we approach the ETF results. ETF flows staying steady and general market sentiment improving could cause XRP to level off and start building a recovery base. Further downside pressure is still possible, though, if ledger activity keeps showing heavy distribution and ETF flows fall short of expectations.
