Ripple releases Q1 2024 XRP market report
Ripple, in their pursuit of transparency and regular updates has published its Q1 2024 XRP market report. The report provides valuable insight into the current state of the cryptomarket, relevant XRP Ledger announcements and XRP related developments, as well as market developments for the previous quarter.
Ripple, as an XRP holder believes in proactive communication. It encourages others to foster open communication, build trust and raise industry standards.
Noteworthy Q1 Market Developments
The first quarter of 2018 saw significant market developments, including the continued demand for BTC spot ETFs, an increase in centralized and decentralized trading volumes, important regulatory and legal updates and technical upgrades to blockchain. BTC ETFs saw a total net inflow of $12B, with trading volumes reaching $207B in only three months. BlackRock's 400+ fund ETFs saw net inflows totaling $67B, while its iShares Bitcoin Trust IBIT registered roughly $13.9B.
The markets are experiencing a mini renaissance. Key examples of this new era of leverage, as well as an increase in demand, include ETF Authorized Participants hedging their inventories on the CME; projects such Ethena amassing over $2B of delta-neutral assets; and funding rates that have entered uncharted territory. Participants want more trading infrastructure for their strategies.
XRP Spot Volumes Surge
The average daily volume of XRP (Spot Volumes) soared to $865M during Q1 ’24, a 40% jump from Q4 ‘23. The average daily XRP derivatives interest in Q1 ’24 was $500M compared to $460M for Q4 ’23. Open interest and spot volumes continue to show a high correlation with overall market activity. This indicates robust XRP activity and trading across venues.
Technical Upgrades and Regulatory Improvements
Several technical upgrades helped to lower the barriers for entry into crypto, both for individuals and institutions. Coinbase plans to move users on-chain through its wallet app, and Ethereum's Dencun update has reduced gas costs significantly for L2s. Tier-1 asset management firms are now offering not only ETFs, but also other securitized product. This is a major step forward in mainstream adoption.
The SEC filed a request to remedy Ripple's historic Institutional Sales of XRP. Ripple has filed an opposition to the SEC request. It argues that the law doesn't allow disgorgement when the SEC cannot prove that anyone suffered harm. The Judge has yet to make a decision on the final remedy in the case.
Deep Dive into XRP Markets
XRP reached a low in mid-February, and a peak in March. The volatility remained high despite the increase in price towards the end Q1. Binance continued to be a major contributor of volume, while other exchanges like Bitstamp and Upbit contributed a large percentage.
Last quarter, on-chain transactions grew by 108% while the average cost per transaction dropped by 45%. The decline in average cost per transactions indicates that there was no congestion in the network during the quarter. In future reports, AMM volumes will be included with the volume of DEX.
Ripple’s XRP Holdings
Ripple reported that it held 4,836,166.156 XRP total as of March 31st 2024. The total amount of XRP that is subject to on-ledger security is 40,100,000,005.
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