What Moves XRP Price? Ripple CTO Emeritus Breaks Down 3 Factors

$XRP's price is shaped by a combination of market factors, sentiment and network fundamentals, some of which directly impact its price and some indirectly.

This conversation on X stemmed from an earlier discussion that sought to deduce the impact of token burning on the price.

$XRP burns tokens systematically, unlike massive burns carried out at once or at periodic times. Transaction fees are systematically burned on $XRP Ledger, reducing the total supply of 100 billion $XRP.

Since $XRP Ledger’s inception, about 14,303,916 $XRP, according to XRPScan data, has been burned. This low burn rate might be attributed to the relatively low transaction fees on the network.

In a response to an X user who speculated that a large burn in the case of $XRP might boost its price, Ripple CTO Emeritus explained the potential impact using an $XLM analogy. In November 2019, Stellar ($XLM) burned 50% of its total supply, which had an indirect impact as its price briefly rose in the aftermath.

As expected, Schwartz's observation came forward as a blunt truth, which did not sit well with some members of the crypto community.

In a tongue-in-cheek response, an X user claimed Ripple USD (RLUSD), real-world assets (RWAs) and bridging with $XRP provide no real price benefit to $XRP.

Schwartz responded, saying that these three things could sometimes have massive indirect impact on the $XRP price, but there might be no benefit from their direct impact.

"No benefit from their direct impact. But I think those things can sometimes have massive indirect impacts," Schwartz answered.

$XRP price in tight squeeze

Since March 10, $XRP has traded sideways in a tighter range, with the price trading between $1.36 and $1.45.

Volatility indicators are squeezing. Bollinger Bands on the daily chart have tightened; this pattern often precedes a larger directional move once liquidity returns.

At the time of writing, $XRP was down 2.94% in the last 24 hours as the broader market faced a drop early Saturday.

Meanwhile, daily transactions are on the rise. According to Evernorth, $XRP transactions have nearly tripled, nearing 3 million per day as of this week, up from nearly 1 million per day in mid-2025.