The latest research by 21Shares revealed that XRP’s circulating supply increased by 5.5% over the past year, fueled by ongoing monthly escrow releases. These findings highlight changing economic dynamics for the token as revenues from the XRP Ledger (XRPL) saw a sharp decline.
Escrow Releases Drive Supply Growth
21Shares reported that approximately 272 million XRP entered circulation each month via scheduled release of escrowed funds. This consistent increase in new supply occurs as only a small fraction of fees paid on XRPL transactions are permanently removed (burned), doing little to counter the added supply.
When compared to other payment-focused crypto assets, XRP’s supply dilution sits below TON’s annual rate of 9.6% and Stellar’s XLM at 8.8%. Only Tron, among the tokens reviewed, was able to generate enough revenue to fully offset its own supply growth, effectively delivering a net positive return to holders.
According to the 21Shares analysis, “XRP holders face a net annual drag of 5.5% at current fee levels.”
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XRP’s monthly escrow releases have added significant new supply, while transaction fees and network activity have not provided enough offsetting revenue to balance this increase.
21Shares estimated that for XRPL to neutralize one year of new supply at current market values, total network revenue would need to multiply roughly 12,700 times—an increase far beyond present levels.
| Asset | Annual Supply Dilution | Revenue Offset | Net Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| XRP | 5.5% | Insufficient | Negative 5.5% |
| Toncoin | 9.6% | Insufficient | Negative |
| Stellar (XLM) | 8.8% | Insufficient | Negative |
| Tron | Comparable | Sufficient | Positive 1.4% |
Revenue Plunges Despite Increased Activity
The XRP Ledger settled $159.9 billion in transactions during the first half of 2026, yet revenue from the network dropped by 81.6% year over year. Earnings fell from $6.43 million to just $1.18 million during the period.
The drop in revenue primarily stemmed from two sectors within XRPL: automated market maker swap pool fees plummeted by 80.3%, while NFT royalties declined 69%. Standard transaction fees also decreased by 66.3% to $90,800. Under the ledger’s protocol, these fees are burned rather than distributed to network validators.
Just 10.6% of the total network revenue benefited holders through reduced circulating supply, with the remainder allocated to liquidity providers and NFT creators.
Stablecoin and Institutional Developments
A notable positive trend emerged in the growth of RLUSD, a stablecoin on XRPL, whose total supply reached $1.56 billion by June 30. Of this amount, 52% was held directly on the XRPL—up from about 10% the previous year. According to 21Shares, this marks an increase of 1,131% in the ledger’s stablecoin base.
Institutional adoption also advanced with Aviva Investors launching a tokenized share class of its U.S. Dollar Liquidity Fund on XRPL in July, following approval by the Central Bank of Ireland. Komainu served as custodian, and tokenization infrastructure was provided by Licuido. This move follows previous deployments from abrdn, Ondo Finance, and Societe Generale.
US spot exchange-traded products (ETPs) tracking XRP absorbed just 14.8% of new supply throughout the first half of the year and exhibited net selling in four out of six months. May saw the strongest ETP demand, covering more than half of that month’s supply increase, but the group’s $588 million annualized inflow represents only about one-seventh of the overall annual net supply.
Ecosystem data indicates roughly $4 billion in tokenized assets are now present across over 500 products on the XRP Ledger, while the number of XRPL wallets continues to climb.
Mini dictionary: Aviva Investors is a UK-based asset manager, part of the Aviva Group, focusing on global investments including tokenization of traditional funds. The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is an open-source, decentralized blockchain platform designed primarily for fast and low-cost payments and tokenization.
