XRP Ledger's Payments Volume at 0: What's Driving it Down?

At first glance, XRP's on-chain payment volume declining to almost zero levels appears concerning, but the background is more important than the headline. At the moment, timing market mechanics and the source of liquidity–or lack thereof–are more important than XRP's structural flaws.

XRP is still moving down

After failing to recover important moving averages, XRP is still stuck in a wider declining channel on the price side. With the 200-day serving as far-off overhead resistance, the asset stays below its 50-day and 100-day averages. Instead of being impulsive, this keeps price action constrained and responsive.

Momentum indicators show this reluctance: the RSI is in the low 40s, not oversold, but obviously weak. The price is weak, but not broken, to put it briefly.

The XRP Ledger payments volume chart, which displays activity collapsing toward zero, is the more perplexing signal. This is the point at which many people make incorrect assumptions. The decline does not indicate that XRP use has abruptly stopped or that the network is dead.

The weekend effect associated with institutional and ETF-related activity is the primary driver. The recent volume expansions of XRP have been significantly impacted by the U.S.-based engagement, especially via regulated platforms like Coinbase. It's important because in the U.S. the way that markets function varies throughout the week.

Liquidity is suspended

Over the weekend, ETF-related flows, institutional desks, and numerous compliance-focused participants essentially stopped or reduced their activity. On-chain payment volume can quickly dry up once those players leave, particularly if retail isn't making up for it. This dynamic explains why the volume of payments falls, but the price does not. Liquidity has been suspended, not eliminated.

Similar declines have historically happened during times when institutional demand momentarily vanished, only to sharply reappear after traditional markets reopened. If ETF-related flows and U-return during weekday sessions, what should investors anticipate?